


Mantrin Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky

by Specter06



Series: Mantrin Imperial Guard [1]
Category: Titan AE (2000)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Complete, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Expanded Universe, Gen, Gun Violence, Mantrins, Science Fiction, Space Battles, Spaceships, Stith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 65,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25281550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter06/pseuds/Specter06
Summary: Join Raeth and his crew, Mantrins in service of their Empire, on their first mission. They have been selected and are equipped to respond quickly to handle the most unusual situations that might occur in a hostile galaxy. But can they also work together? Alternate and expanded universe based upon Titan A.E.
Series: Mantrin Imperial Guard [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831597





	1. Those You Leave Behind

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, it's been 20 years after Titan A.E.  
> A couple of years back I began working on a final farewell piece for this fandom but it went into limbo for a while.  
> Update 9-8-2020:  
> This is it. All 12 chapters done and working on the first chapter of the next episode.

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

**Prologue by Raeth, House of Meztar**

_Space. What is it about this great black mysterious void that in essence surrounds us all, connects us all in many ways and continues to fascinate in ways no one could ever dream of? I am convinced that every people, curious enough to look up at the sky at nighttime, have asked themselves this single question at least once. What is out there?_

_I know that because I remember asking my father the exact same question when I was still too young to fully comprehend the answer he gave me. Because, after the great question come the answers and in many cultures the stories of those who once could not yet travel beyond the sky and walk among the stars by themselves. What are those unreachable lights that glitter between the darkness at night? Are they the guardians of the universe, using it as their playground while observing us from a great distance? Or are they the spirits of our ancestors, those who went before us, watching and protecting over those once loved? Or maybe they’re just giant burning balls of incredibly heated gases much like the sun that brings you the warmth and light of day. It depends on what we believe, on what we can see and what we can dream of and none of it is wrong._

_Why am I telling you all this, you might ask? Well, because I’ve been out there. I have walked among the stars and as of this moment I am on the verge of stepping out there again and fulfill not only my duty but a lifelong dream. With it comes great responsibility but fortunately I won’t have to do it alone._

_The galaxy isn't what you'd call a friendly place. Some situations require what I describe as special treatment. My crew and I have been selected to handle these cases in the name of the Emperor. For we serve the most powerful military organization in the quadrant: The Imperial Guard._

# Chapter 1 Those You Leave Behind

_So far my introduction. But before telling you about one of the first adventures of my crew and I, there are a few small things you should be aware of first. See that little blue and green marble out there? No, it’s not the place where you’re born. That’s my home. Sogowa Prime. It’s kinda small right now, but don’t worry because you’re gonna see it up close in just a moment. Let me tell you a little about me. My name’s Raeth. At least that’s what my friends and relatives call me. I’m a member of the House of Meztar, which sorta serves as my last name, though it’s formally my family name. All the modern members of my kind belong to a House. It’s something that identifies them as being part of a great family, for a House carries all the honors, accomplishments but also the shame and failure of every single one of its members until it ceases to exist for some reason. I know it’s complicated but that’s just the way things are on the world where I come from._

_About my people, well for starters, we don’t really look like you. Unless you happen to call Sogowa Prime your home too. The things that define us are most definitely the legs. Double-kneed, incredibly strong and making up most of our bodies really. Furthermore, I got a tail to keep me balanced while walking and my mouth sorta looks like the beak of a bird, but softer and more flexible so unlike most birds we still got teeth for chewing our food. My ears, well, let’s say they’re bigger than average but I consider that an advantage. Last but not least we got a relatively short temper and we never get out of the way of a good fight. Yeah, we prefer to use our fists and claws on occasion but not overly so. We like to be competitive and play rough from time to time. You got all that? You got a weird image of me and my kind right now, don’t ya? Let it go. We might not be born on the same planet but still we’re not that different despite our outer appearances. Maybe you’re a parent too, like me. I’ve got two great kids. A lovely mate, or ‘wife’ as you call your partner and I love ‘em just as much as you love yours._

_Enough talk. We’re getting close to my world and I very well remember the end of that afternoon. It’s where I begin my story and at the very same time one of the biggest adventures of my life. I had just gotten my new command as captain or ‘Ginjha’ of one of the Guard’s newest ships and I was about to spend one last evening together with my family._

Ta’keth. Capital of the Empire. The largest city on Sogowa Prime and the center of its expansive territory. Next to being the seat of government, led by the Emperor it was also the primal hub of galactic banking and commerce within the Empire. Also located here were the embassies. These served to strengthen relations between the Empire’s worlds and other planets. Other than that, it was the home of one Mantrin in particular.

At the end of what had been a late spring afternoon, Raeth made his way home through the paved streets of a somewhat unremarkable district. He walked at a calm pace along the right side of the road flanked by well-maintained front gardens, filled with blossoming and fragrant plants and flowers. As he looked around, he noticed most people on the street were children of all ages. While it was time for their parents to prepare and cook meals for the evening, they enjoyed the afternoon sun that had warmed the light brown pavement to a comfortable temperature under his large feet, playing games and filling the streets with laughter and the sound of joy. Taking firm steps, the three large toes of each foot spread to create balance and grip upon contact. Various thoughts occupied his mind as he covered the last bit of distance to his house. Recognizing his surroundings, he knew it was in the street after the next turn right at the approaching junction. Those children reminded him of his own. The mothers that called from the front door openings of the houses to some of them, bringing to their attention that dinner was ready and waiting, reminded him of his own mate. How they were waiting for him to come home. How they were preparing to say goodbye after spending one last evening with them.

“Good day, sir.” She was a middle-aged Mantrinesse, Sogowan race, characterized by her skin in two shades of brown, like his own. Her almond-shaped eyes were a vivid orange, a twinkle of friendliness in them. She added a subtle and respectful bow to her greeting. It was but a playful reminder that he wore the red uniform of the Guard. It marked him as a man of military status, inviting a level of respect. He answered her greeting with one of his own, unable to resist smiling. This was partly because he was forced to a halt before the opening in the low wooden fence, separating her house’s front garden from the street. Her children, a boy and a girl, crossed his path in a hurry to answer their mother’s call, making a slight jump to the left to avoid his massive leg. “Be careful!” their mother warned them, shaking her head. She touched the head of the oldest to let him know what he did wrong as she stepped aside to let them into the house. “I’m sorry, it’s just--”

“It’s fine.”

Accepting and dismissing her apology with a slight gesture she nodded again before closing the door. By the time he heard the bump and click, Raeth had already moved on to the point where he could see the front door of his own house. It was the second from the left across the street he now faced. An aerial vehicle flew overhead, signaling for a landing maneuver. It was one of the city’s many quick air transports for moving citizens around like taxis. After making sure it did not pick a spot right on top of him, he crossed the street. Tapping the communicator unit around his left wrist, the device woke up, ready to unlock the door of his house.

“Welcome home, _Ginjha_ sir.”

He had recognized the tone of his female neighbor’s voice. An Orketh Mantrinesse, characterized by the striped patterns around the ankles, hips and base of her tail, visible because of the shorts she wore. She was much smaller than he was. The size difference was emphasized even more because Raeth was a good deal larger than average for his race. His height in standing position was a staggering seven feet and six inches.

“Hi Jaeya,” he answered, his powerful deep-toned voice gentle but in sharp contrast to her cheerful pitch.

Watering the plants and flowers in her front garden she stopped for a moment as if to get a better look at him. Turning to face her he closed some of the distance between them by doing a step forward. Her right ear twitched in a playful manner as she smiled.

“You look so handsome.” Unfazed by her remark, quite sure she meant it as a compliment and not some turn in a game she couldn’t hope to win, he was about to thank her until the unchanged expression on his face had a different consequence. “I’m sorry,” she said, her ears developing a faint touch of red. “Don’t tell Ashia I said that.”

There was a hint of panic in her voice when she added that last part. Guessing she must’ve felt ashamed he watched as she continued to empty her watering can over her plants, avoiding any further eye contact. Suppressing a chuckle, he stepped back toward the front door of his house. Jaeya wasn’t bonded to a mate and she once told him that she never would be. It didn’t stop her from flirting from time to time though, something she often apologized for.

“What makes you think she’d mind? I’m her mate after all.” One more time she looked at him, a bashful look on her face. Then she shifted her focus back to her plants, making sure it couldn’t return to him as she turned around to water a different row.

Shaking his head, the left corner of his beak pulled into a faint grin he couldn’t suppress. He then stepped back to face the large and heavy wooden door of his own house. Its shape was almost square as was common on his world due to his species’ unique physiology. Waving his wrist past the doorframe in an absent-minded gesture, he heard the soft click of the locking mechanism shortly thereafter. The door opened a couple of inches out of its own as a sign of invitation to enter.

The first thing he noticed when he pushed the door to let himself in was the whiff of that familiar and trusted smell. The natural aroma of his own house, a touch of wood, a hint of sweetness. What he always loved was how it was unique for every single house, like a strand of DNA was unique for every living creature. The air inside felt like a cool caress in contrast to the warmth of outside, although summer hadn’t officially announced itself yet. The quietness was only disturbed by the sound of children’s voices coming from the living room, so he decided to make everyone aware of his presence. “ _Nyehari saa_.”

There was no direct response. After closing the door and crossing the short hallway in a few steps to enter the living area of his home he almost bumped into the oldest of the two youngest members of his family.

“ _Kharii!_ ”

Due to his height, Trynn only succeeded in hugging his belly. It would still take a while before she would be able to make her hands meet behind his back. It was more than her younger brother was able to do. He usually went for one of his legs instead.

“Hey kiddo.” Petting her head, his large hand folding her ears down, she purred under his touch. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. Glad you’re home _kharii_.”

“ _Kha-rii._ ”

Fran’s face was the perfect image of joy, a wide open laugh and copper-colored eyes sparkling. As his four-year old son prepared to grab his leg, Raeth lowered himself to the floor, kneeling on his middle legs, moving Trynn to the right and grabbing Fran around his back on the left. Trynn wrapped her arms around his muscular neck and Fran crawled into his lap like a newborn, burying his head in his belly.

“Hey, I haven’t been gone that long.” Rubbing his children’s backs he purred like a relaxed cat, savoring the moment. He knew why they were so affectionate. It was the same reason why he had trouble letting go of them himself. “Where’s your _hahme?_ ”

“In the kitchen. Cooking dinner.”

Releasing him from her firm hug she looked into his eyes, tip of her beak a mere two inches away from his, eyes still glittering. She then gave him a lick on the right side of his beak, followed by a giggle afterwards. Raeth’s suppressed laugh turned into a soft snort.

“Oh, you like that huh? Let’s see if you like this.”

With a powerful growl he buried the tip of his beak into her chest, rubbing by shaking his head. The effect was like tickle torture. Begging him to stop she was overcome with giggles and she couldn’t easily get away from him either.

“ _Kharii,_ please stop, my belly’s hurting.”

When he finally let go, she stumbled backwards, letting herself drop to the floor. Lying flat on her back, she panted, still laughing and with her hand on her belly. Prying Fran, who tried to climb up, off his chest, he lifted him in his strong arms, giving him a tiny lick on his cheek with the tip of his tongue. The boy chuckled, giving his cheek a quick stroke as his father put him back on his feet. Pushing himself up, Raeth regained his incredible height and mighty appearance as he rose to his clawed feet. He was effective in dwarfing both his children, although he had to admit they were both growing up fast.

“I’ll go find your _hahme_. Just play for a little while longer until we eat, okay?”

Trynn who had caught her breath, picked herself up from the floor and nodded, grabbing her little brother’s arm.

“Okay. C’mon Franny.”

Raeth smiled and scratched behind his ear when he observed their ongoing activities. They had been drawing together judging by the amount of paper and pencils scattered around. The living room was the largest room in the entire house and his children loved turning it into their playground.

The center of the room was taken by a large low wooden table, rectangular in shape and under normal circumstances surrounded by no less than eight large floor pillows. This arrangement was common in his people’s homes with family taking up a very important place in their culture. It was the table around which to share meals, discuss pressing family matters and receive guests.

Depicting the importance of family even more was the large woven cloth, like a tapestry, covering a portion of the wall opposite to the small hallway leading up to the front door. It was long enough to leave little space between its opposite ends and the floor and ceiling. The sophisticated and artistic form of their writing on it was very characteristic and could not be mistaken for anything else. His people called it a _Cathaiyra_. The crest in the middle was the symbol of their House. The names of his children, mate and himself were written around it in large colorful symbols that overlapped with each other and the crest in the middle.

The rest of the furniture lined the living room walls, leaving ample space around the table. Cabinets with potted plants spreading a mild fragrance. Cultural artifacts put up for display. A large holo TV, currently set to a news channel, projecting parallel to the wall farthest from where he stood. Three wooden lamps, cut by hand in a spiraling design to provide his family with some light during the darker cycles.

What Fran and Trynn did amused him again and again. Six of the large dark blue seating pillows were tossed together at the short end of the table closest to the kitchen entrance. This was their base of operations from which to turn things into a mess. They laid down on their bellies on top of them with drawing boards behind their paper to prevent tearing through it with their pencils. He had to admit, it was better than the hard sandy brown tiles of the floor.

Shaking his head, he took a left to the kitchen to find their mother and his mate. That didn’t take long as their one-story house wasn’t that big. At least not by their kind’s standards but it was a fine house nonetheless and they were both glad they could get a loan and buy their own place in Ta’keth. Ashia in particular. She didn’t want to leave the city in which she grew up and where most of her family lived too.

He found her in front of the ceramic stove, a dish towel draped over her shoulder, stirring in one of two pots next to a large frying pan. She wore a comfortable loose pair of blue trousers and a short-sleeved spring green shirt. Whatever she was cooking it smelled wonderful and made his stomach growl with anticipation.

She noticed his approach as her ear flicked and they made eye contact via the mild reflection of her face in the kitchen window, offering a view of the street. Turning down the heat with a quick gesture over the stove’s control panel she turned around. Wiping her hands on a towel flung over her shoulder she tossed it on the counter behind her.

A smile that invited a warm feeling between his hearts. Eyes that seemed made of bronze, still radiating what she felt for him since the moment they met. Compared to him, her height and overall size were less intimidating and humbler, befitting of her kind character just like the sound of her voice.

“Hey _Oni._ How was your day?”

Raeth couldn’t resist answering her smile with one of his own.

“A little tiresome. Lots of preparation but everything went fine.”

He approached her as she did a step forward. His long tail created a rustling sound as the end of it swept over the hard wooden floor of the kitchen with calm fluid motions. Until the tip of her beak was but a few inches away as she looked up. Caressing the side of her leathery muzzle to his in a fond gesture she wrapped her arms around him. As she rested her head on his chest, the tips of her long soft ears tickled his throat. Wrapping his strong arms around her in a warm hug he purred. His chest collapsed as he expelled the air inside through his nostrils in a moment of relief.

“I’m gonna miss you.”

“I know. I’ll miss you too. Don’t worry too much.”

Ashia knew she sometimes had to miss him for longer periods of time when she decided to become his mate. He had been working on his career for most of his life and he had to, for various reasons. Now that he had reached the rank of _Ginjha_ not so long ago it started to pay off. Detaching herself from him she grabbed the front tips of his uniform’s black collar, with the insignia badges indicating his status on each of them, between thumb and index finger.

“It looks really nice. Don’t let them get the better of ya.”

“I’ll do my best. How’s your back?”

His remark affected her mood, judging by the way the expression on her face changed. He couldn’t blame her. It seemed to come and go at random but Ashia’s back problems often went hand in hand with periods of severe pain. During flareups she couldn’t walk without cringing. It was at these times that he felt most sorry for her. As a mother she had to take care of two children, herself and everything in the meantime while he risked his life to go on missions in deep space or wherever Command ordered him to go. But it was necessary to put food on the table and be able to afford the medicine she needed to alleviate the pain and the eventual treatment that would get rid of the problem for good. Her ears sagged and after letting go of his collar she let her hands slide down over his chest, eventually letting her left arm dangle and putting the hand of the other on her hip.

“Doing okay, I guess,” she said, letting go of a mild sigh. “It’s not hurting so much right now. I can manage.” She forced a smile and Raeth nodded, trying not to look as serious as before, although he was concerned about his mate. She seemed to be in pain more often lately and more severe too. “Can you help me get everything to the table?” she asked, changed the subject to break the silence that followed. “It’s done.”

“Sure.”

Taking the lead, she turned around to grab one of the pots with the towel she had tossed on the counter. As Raeth followed to assist her, their daughter interrupted them. The panic in her voice was a clear warning signal.

“ _Kharii! Hahme!_ Come quick! It’s Fran again! He can’t breathe!”

Ashia turned around with a worried look on her face, her breath caught in her throat. Raeth reacted fast and in a controlled way. Walking out of the kitchen with a few fast strides to cross the small distance to the living room he was careful not to run down his daughter who jumped out of his way.

“Where’s his inhaler?” His eyes locked on the situation and he acted on instinct for a moment. His question was meant to verify what he already knew. Fran’s inhaler was lying in its easy to reach spot on top of the largest wooden cabinet in the living room. Ashia’s reply wasn’t necessary because he had already grabbed it and dropped to his knees near his son. The boy sat on one of the pillows on his rear, taking quick shallow breaths which didn’t do much good for it seemed he still fought for air. It was hard to watch a child his age struggle so much, but it wasn’t what Raeth was thinking of right now.

“Easy now Fran.” Kneeling on the floor, putting the mouth-piece between the boy’s teeth he squeezed his shoulder in a comforting way to let him know someone was there to help. Pressing the button on the side of the device with his thumb he released the medicine that would give him his breath back. “That’s it.” Watching it do its work as Fran’s breathing returned to a steady normal, he took the device out of the youngling’s mouth. Placing it down on the floor, he continued to hold him, one hand on his back, the other on his lower chest. “C’mon Fran, breathe. Gently.”

He was now out of any danger, if there was any due to his quick response to Trynn’s warning. He had to give her credit for that. Convincing himself it was okay to let go, he rested his hands on his thighs. His daughter had approached them in the meantime, and he heard Ashia’s slow steps behind him as he continued to monitor Fran. Wondering if his watery eyes were him trying to hold back tears or another symptom of his extreme shortness of breath, he looked at Trynn as she kneeled on the pillow next to her brother. Putting her arm around his shoulder she licked his cheek, rubbing her head to his. Until he hugged her back, with a soft whimper escaping her mouth. “It’s all right Franny. _Kharii_ was here.”

He smiled at the exchange of love and care between his children. Hearing the sound of her foot claws scratching the floor next to him he looked up at his mate. She still hadn’t lost the worried look on her face. Even after the four solar cycles that Fran had been in their midst it was still hard for her to watch her son fight so much. Not that he didn’t have trouble with it. He figured he was better at hiding his fears and being strong for the rest of his family. Trying to swallow she let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding for a while.

“He’s all right, Ashia.” Scrambling back to his feet in a fluid motion, his limberness compensating for his size he put a hand on her shoulder. Squeezing some comfort into her, like he did with his son, he made sure to put the inhaler back on its spot on the cabinet. “Don’t lock up like that. You know he’s counting on you.”

“I-I’m sorry. I--”

“It’s okay. I know you would’ve done exactly like I did if I hadn’t been there. You’ve done so many times before.”

She looked down at his chest as he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Then she nodded.

“He’s safe.” It was more as if her statement was meant to put her mind at ease, to convince herself that the danger had passed once more. “It’s just that I’m afraid of what would happen if neither of us is there. If no one is there to help.”

Raeth shook his head.

“Don’t worry too much. Fran also has his wristband, just in case. His teachers at the learning center know what to do and have taken care of him more than once. Even his sister is keeping an eye on him whenever she can.” He sighed, grinding his teeth for a moment. “This stress is what’s worsening your backaches. Might even be a major cause.”

“I know okay?!” Her sudden outburst surprised even herself, remorse adding a touch of red to her face. “ _Uiisa_.”

Raeth sighed once more, touching his beak to hers as an acceptance of her apology.

“No, I’m sorry. Let’s eat. Let it behind us. Nothing happened after all.”

The smile he longed for finally returned to her face, a bit forced but there, nonetheless. Asking Trynn and Fran, who had already gone back to whatever they were working on to clean up a little, Ashia returned to the kitchen with Raeth on her tail. _I’m gonna miss her cooking._

***

Due to Sogowa Prime’s twin moons, the nights on the world were seldom shrouded in complete darkness, even with a clouded sky. But tonight, with a few lonely puffs of cloud drifting by, it was more than enough to see without aid in their pale shine. Enjoying the coolness of the late evening wherever it touched his bare skin, Raeth studied the cratered faces of Sheloh and Dimra. The two moons had withstood the ravages of time, like his people did, despite their long and intricate past. The only artificial light came from the windows behind him, but it wasn’t a sharp contrast with the particularly bright moons this night.

Taking a deep calm breath through his nose he listened to the nocturnal sounds all around him that provoked subtle reflexive movements of his long elliptical ears. His thoughts went out for a moment to beyond Sogowa’s sky and into the vastness beyond the planet’s atmosphere. It called out to him, like it always did. Like the first time it did when he was a mere teenager longing for adventure and a way out of a life he couldn’t adjust to. He always wanted more. He had heard that from his father more than enough times in his youth.

The night was peaceful, only disturbed by the sound of quick little footsteps behind him. Lifting his muscular tail off the soft grass on which it had been resting, he tried to determine without looking where he had to put it next to prevent it from being stepped on. But his daughter already stood right before him at an arm’s length distance from the center of his belly before he had been able to make up his mind.

Without a word she looked at him, a tiny sparkle in the little pools of copper that were her eyes, ears twitching. Then as if the mild smile appearing on his face was her cue, she threw herself against the hard muscle of his midriff, rubbing her cheek to it. Resting his fingertips on the back of her head, feeling her soft skin and ears he let the base of her ears slip between his fingers. His gentle massaging movements provoked a calm and relaxed purring from his daughter. As she turned her head upwards, placing her chin flat on his belly he let her ears escape his soft grip by themselves. By the time he had reached the tips and released them he noticed how she couldn’t keep the right one up as well as the other. Resisting the urge to call her ‘flops’ because he knew she hated it, he waited for her to move first.

“I’ll miss you _kharii_.”

He could’ve guessed she would say that. Of course, his family was going to miss him.

“I’ll miss you too.”

Trynn pouted a little.

“I… I don’t want you to go. You’re always gone for so long.”

If only she realized how much more difficult she made it for him. For as long as he could remember he had been torn between career and family. Between doing the thing he always dreamed of and spending time with those he held dear. Near impossible to combine so he had to make choices. With a sigh he lowered himself to a knee on the ground in front of his daughter. It decreased his height to a more equal level as he signaled her to come a little closer.

“Come here.” Doing as he said, exchanging her pout for a frown, she flicked an ear, tail whipping as she assumed a waiting position. “Trynn, you know why I have to go, right?”

Heaving a somewhat exaggerated sigh, visibly deflating as she blew out her breath, she nodded afterwards.

“I know.”

Of course, he and Ashia had explained to her about Fran’s health which was an even more immediate problem than Ashia’s backaches. Those could be cured at any time if they could put enough aside for the treatment. Fran was a different story.

His son was born with a rare condition that prevented his lungs from developing like they should, meaning they were already too small for his age. The doctors prognosed that they would never reach their full natural potential on their own. On top of that, he suffered from asthmatic attacks which in combination with his small lungs could be deadly without the medicine that had saved his life up till now. Despite all that, modern medical technology could make Fran’s life easier. Growth stimulation with a series of treatments in combination with gene therapy could eradicate the problem forever so he would grow up to be strong and healthy like his father.

The downside? The treatment was expensive, and it had to be a single uninterrupted procedure so they couldn’t help him in stages. He and Ashia had been saving up for it ever since they learned of Fran’s condition, which was since his birth. They had come a long way already. His advancement in rank would finally give them that final push.

Digging the claws of her right foot into the dirt underneath the grass, turning up small bits of it as she chewed on her bottom lip, Trynn avoided his stare. He knew what she and the other members of his family were going through. Pulling her close by wrapping his arm around her back, she hugged him tight.

_“Nyemouri deh.”_

Raeth purred.

“ _Nyemouri deh nii_.” Licking his cheek after releasing him, she chuckled. “Hey, take care of your _hahme_ and your little _khomii_ for me, will ya?”

She nodded.

“I will.”


	2. Like a Second Family

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 2 Like a Second Family

“You _know_ why you’ve been chosen for this assignment, Raeth.”

The metal bulkheads of the docking arm were cold, shiny and functional, with little attention paid to aesthetics. As Raeth and his ranking companion traversed them on their way to the beginning of the assignment currently under discussion, they echoed the sound of their powerful bare-footed steps back at them. The solid metal surface was lined with conduits and interrupted at regular intervals by rectangular air vents, viewports and the occasional airlock doorframe. The latter were for sealing off sections in case of emergencies that threatened the atmospheric integrity of the station.

The sound of their steps was a combination of a thump and the scratching of sharp claws as they spread on contact. Due to Raeth’s considerable size, the heaviness of his step was similar in sound to his superior’s. What distinguished the two was the latter having a slight difficulty moving his right leg. This was due to a permanent injury which also cost him the outermost toe of his foot on the same side.

Despite that, the Goureg _Nezvhan Rhaa_ , a rank which placed him above starship commanders and even most flag officers of the Guard was one of the most revered officers in the fleet. His scars were considered mere tokens of his achievements, courage and cunning ability to come out on top in battle. Their destination was close to the far end of the outer docking arms. During their walk, Raeth had lost count of the many times he and Khyrzan were greeted with respect or saluted by passing officers and station personnel. He considered it a privilege to be more than a mere subordinate in the eyes of the _Nezvhan Rhaa_ , as evidenced by his choice of words. “Because you’re _good_ at what you do. You got the chance to prove it and you did admirably.”

They had almost reached the end of the docking arm. The large viewports on both sides of the broad tube offered an amazing view of outer space. Raeth let his eyes glide over every magnificent piece of engineering. The individual docking bays were of different shapes and sizes and were adjustable to fit different types of vessels. Some were empty. Others held ships that had either just arrived, were awaiting or undergoing repairs and regular maintenance, or were ready to go.

Khyrzan’s last words stopped him dead in his tracks which was more of a coincidence too. Four crew members of one of the nearby ships now blocked their direct path. Calling to clear some space they used a hover loader to move a set of three large containers to the station. Making some room as they waited for them to make the turn, his eyes locked with Khyrzan’s which were a bright shade of greenish blue. Without realizing it, Raeth had already given off signals that he didn’t agree, for they narrowed enough for it to be noticeable.

“With all due respect, sir, I did what I could. Pure dumb luck had a hand in it too.”

Khyrzan snorted, turning around to make better use of the available room now that the cargo handlers had passed, to face him. The expression that drew some clear lines in his hardened face was not one of anger. It was seriousness and above all else the firm belief that he was right on this one.

“Listen, Raeth. Don’t tell me you haven’t got what it takes. Anyone can think what they want, say what they want. But you got that ship and the remaining eighty or so members of that crew home. Against the odds you faced and your commanding officer unable to hold your hand, you did a remarkably good job. Not just anyone could’ve pulled that off.”

Without breaking eye contact, Raeth nodded. He knew who he was talking to and he wouldn’t say that for no reason at all.

“ _Hyami_ , sir.”

Nodding toward their previous heading, Khyrzan resumed his walk. A ship must have attached itself to the nearest airlock because its crewmembers began to spill into the docking arm, carrying their personal belongings and gear with them in large standard issue backpacks. Khyrzan’s voice was powerful enough to drone out the racket though and everyone seemed to make room for him as he approached.

“C’mon, she’s waiting for you. In fact, if you look to the left, you can get a nice view of her.” Staying behind his superior, until he had room to walk beside him, Raeth had no trouble spotting her because the two docking bays at her starboard side were empty. For a moment he couldn’t contain his excitement. Both his hearts beat faster. A slight chill worked its way up his spine. They didn’t come fresher than this. The dark gray hull had a very faint red glow in the light of the sun, untouched by even the tiniest piece of space debris. “A brand new _Myr’loa_ class. There are currently only four of these operating within the fleet,” Khyrzan said, a thin layer of pride and admiration covering his voice. “She may not be as big as that _Laeisia_ class you managed to haul back, but she’s got the latest and greatest. Even likes to touch down on a planet surface now and then.”

“I… I caught a glimpse of the test reports, sir. It’s an impressive piece of engineering. What’s she called?”

Khyrzan halted, shooting a quick glance over his shoulder. The corner of his beak pulled into a revealing grin.

“ _That_ will be up to you. Just a thought from one of the top engineers working on the project. Like the young tribal warriors, the _Myr’loas_ earn their names through their accomplishments and the final test to becoming _Myr’shala_. These ships will earn their names in a similar fashion. For the moment she’s registered as _Myr’loa_ class I05B Mark II.”

“What happened to the mark I?”

Khyrzan sighed, resuming his walk on a casual pace, signaling Raeth to follow.

“Last question, last answer, _Ginjha_. We need to get you on your way on your first assignment. Engineers discovered a flaw in the cooling system of the Mark I prototype’s forward fusion thrusters. Under certain conditions during a planetary landing, which puts considerable stress on the propulsion systems, the system proved insufficient. The engines overheated and the ship made a crash landing on the test site. Fortunately, everyone aboard made it out alive with only light to moderate injuries. They corrected the error in a new revision and the current iteration is performing admirably in all situations they’ve been put into so far. That includes battle and all but the harshest of planetary conditions. Now c’mon. You haven’t had the chance to meet that XO of yours yet.”

They had almost reached the docking hatch which was near the end of the docking arm. Raeth had already spotted two members of his would-be crew he met before. His First Officer had already given him a headache though. They still had to make first contact. The decision of assigning him under his command came rather late. He also had one hell of a record under his belt.

“I’ve read some of his reports, sir. Is he for real?”

The _Nezvhan Rhaa_ made an amused sound, a combination of a snort and a laugh.

“You bet your tail he is. He does have a knack for doing things his way. Unfortunately, as he is still a _Kaedar,_ it’s the only thing standing in the way of getting his own command. Something tells me you’re gonna have your hands full on him.”

“Still trying to make up my mind between being impressed or worried.”

“And he’s not the only one you should keep an eye on now and then. But they’ve all got one thing in common. They’re like _you_ , Raeth. Each and every one of them is one of the best in their field. You’ll learn to appreciate ‘em.”

With Khyrzan’s last words still echoing in his ears, Raeth crossed the last bit of distance. He inadvertently made eye contact with the largest of the bunch by far as they took position on his approach. Almost in unison, each of them straightened their back to look tall, rigid and proud. They crossed their right arm diagonally over their chest, a fist placed on the left side. A standard issue salute copied shortly thereafter by their superior officers. “ _Superiority clearly not defined by height or even overall size,_ ” Raeth thought. Unfazed by the somewhat menacing appearance of the charcoal gray Mantrin with the intense emerald stare that didn’t break or budge, he ordered them to be at ease for now. They all dropped their arms, shifting their feet in a steady and more relaxed position. Keeping the upper hand in the situation Raeth introduced himself first with a subtle bow of his head, without losing eye contact.

“Raeth, House of Meztar. We haven’t had the chance to meet yet.”

He answered his greeting at first by a deep breath through the nose, and a relaxed but powerful exhale the same way.

“Jirro, House of Kezani,” was his heavy-weighted reply.

Raeth could’ve sworn that the other attendants had seen the spark too. It was the spark of two abrasive sides rubbing against each other until the cold hard core was stripped bare. Jirro was part Ryrjhii, his heritage betrayed by the unique hooked shape of his beak and incredible muscularity. At least he had that for an excuse to explain his roughness and service record. But something told Raeth instantly, despite his long experience with all sorts of his kind, that Khyrzan made no joke about preparing to have his hands full and get them dirty of necessary. _I sure hope this guy ain’t more trouble than he’s worth._

The other two faces present were familiar. The in comparison much smaller Mantrinesse standing next to his XO was a young _I’sha_ by rank. She was one of his two pilots and according to her record, with remarkable skill for her age. She was a somewhat pudgy-looking Orketh, characterized by her chestnut colored skin and what little was visible of her unique brown pattern of stripes around the sides of her lower waist below her uniform top.

“Freya?” Raeth said, dragging out her name a bit as he recalled it.

The faint smile and nod she gave him, as well as the twinkle in her golden brown eyes, confirmed his correctness though.

“Yes sir. House of Ewani.”

Standing in the middle, the last of the three more of less dwarfed her again. The slight grin on the face, scarred by a lot of experience in fistfights and shootouts reflected her daring personality. Most prominent were the slash in the right side of her beak and neck and the missing portion of her right ear. Licking the front of her left canine the deep brown Sogowan Mantrinesse looked back at her superior with her head turned a little to the side. As if judging what she was up against, even though they had met before. It was hard to forget that face though.

“Trezka, House of Ketrea.”

“Sir!”

Her response was as fierce as her looks and she straightened her back once more.

“As you were, _Ay’tahka_.”

She signed on as his Chief of Security and tactical officer, a role that suited her fiery spirit. At that moment Khyrzan decided it was time for him to leave.

“Everything should be in order, Raeth. Your first mission is simple but could change at any time. Remember, that’s why you’re put to together. You’re going on a routine patrol and in the meantime you and your crew will evaluate the performance of the _Myr’loa_. Note anything of significance into the log. Keep me posted and may Kirliya enlighten the paths of you and your crew.”

“ _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar._ ” Bowing their heads in unison, Raeth watched the _Nezvhan Rhaa_ leave with a powerful whip of his tail. It did not take long for his large figure to be absorbed in the crowdedness of the docking arm. The feeling that boiled up inside of him came from deep inside. It was the ignited flame of his warrior’s spirit. It filled him with the confidence and courage required to lead this new crew and ship on their first mission. But first he had to make them feel their place. “Status, Jirro. I assume we’re loaded and ready to go?”

He noticed the ignition of the same flame in his first officer’s eyes. The expression on the face of the Ryrjhii crossbreed remained the same, hard and with restrained emotion.

“Positive, sir.” He was the first to turn around toward the open airlock. It led into the transparent tube connected to the ship’s port docking hatch. Freya, Trezka and finally Raeth followed his example. His tail, covered in its entirety by the fabric of the tail pocket of his pants, slammed on the metal of the floor with a dull thud as he started walking. “There is still time for you to inspect the stations before we leave,” he grunted. His deep voice was like thunder, strengthened even more by the echoes reflected against the wall of the tube.

“Main engineering first, _Kaedar_. You’re with me. Freya, prepare the ship for departure.”

“I’ll have her ready in a few ticks, sir. As soon as I get the go-ahead from down below.”

In comparison her voice was soft and gentle, almost girl-like. Fresh from the Academy she lacked the experience of her superiors, but this girl had as much skill in certain areas as they had. And because she would take the first shift behind the helm, she could show them all right away what she was worth.

“Trezka, get our gunners together on their favorite spot. I’ll stop by the gunnery deck on my way to the bridge.”

“Aye, _Ginjha_.”

With Jirro setting the pace for the group they found themselves inside the ship in little time. Sealing both doors of the airlock after making it through they followed the First Officer to the ship’s central corridor. Wide enough for two large members of their species to walk next to or pass each other it offered access to every part of the ship. _Myr’loa_ class ships only had five decks and a small crew complement. Vertical moving platforms at convenient locations acted as lifts. They granted passage between decks for a maximum of three large members of their kind at a time. Both Freya and Trezka took the one nearby, the first on her way to the bridge, the latter on her way to the gunnery deck as instructed.

With the docking ports on deck three and main engineering on the same level, Raeth matched his pace with Jirro’s, heading in the direction of the vessel’s stern. The main corridor was well-lit. The shiny bulkheads didn’t have a scratch on them. The atmosphere of fresh recycled air carried the scent of machinery that was activated only yesterday. Some bulkhead sections had handles that allowed for the removal of panels, offering access to conduits and integrated circuitry. Status displays were integrated at head height at varying intervals. These displayed ship status as well as information on different subsystems monitored at real time.

Jirro held his silence, clear evidence that he was not in the mood for small talk. In fact, Raeth sensed a certain hostility, a kind of refusal where there should’ve been acceptance. He was a _Ginjha_ and this person his _Kaedar_. His First Officer who he should be able to depend on in any kind of situation. He decided to leave it for now and made a mental note to come back to it when necessary.

The armored airtight door of main engineering split open into three parts on their approach. This area housed the ship’s main and secondary reactors as well as offering access to all parts of the quantum drive systems.

For a ship the size of the _Myr’loa_ class, one of the Guard’s smaller cruisers, the engine and reactor room was spacious. Being the ship’s main power source, the singularity core was located in the middle of the rectangular space. The singularity itself was visible as a miniature black sphere at the center of a bright glowing corona of energy. It was in turn surrounded by both a containment field and a transparent spherical housing. The containment unit brought the intensity of the light down to safe levels as well as filter out anything harmful outside the visible spectrum. A sturdy looking pylon construction supported the central sphere, holding it in place between the floor and the ceiling. It connected to a transparent tube-like construction that seemed to suck the energy away from the core in three directions. Up and down through smaller conduits and through the larger one leading to and disappearing into the wall on the far end of the room. The two secondary reactors, similar in design, flanked the horizontal energy conduit in the back.

There were four workstations. Two on the left from where they were standing and two on the right. These all faced forward into the room to allow the operators to keep a direct eye on things as well. All workstations carried the same design principles throughout the ship.

The seats were mounted on sliding rails into the deck so their occupant would be able to move back and forth while seated. The console itself was mounted on an arm that could move up and down. This combination allowed each station to accommodate a Mantrin of almost any size with more than enough legroom. The seats were large and comfortable and had a back that was attached to the seat only on the left side with an opening between the two parts large enough to fit any tail.

The control panel consisted of three trapezoid-shaped reflective black panels covered with touch-based controls. The sides (or legs) of the panels touched each other and the shorter one of the parallel sides (or bases) faced the user. Each of the longer sides had a projector that in turn produced a half-transparent virtual display.

Aside from these workstations, additional control panels were mounted on a ring around the main and secondary reactors. Access to other parts of the propulsion and power distribution systems was offered by a pair of crawlways in the back next to the secondary reactors and two more near the middle of the right and left walls.

All things considered; the room was symmetric in design with only a few visual dissimilarities between both halves. That did not include the engineering team. As soon as they noticed their commanding officers, they ceased all activity and formed a small part of a circle, giving them a standard salute.

“At ease everyone,” Raeth said on a calm tone before addressing the middle Mantrin. He was a Talocaan by race, a much rarer sight among his kind although his race and his own, the Sogowan, did share a common ancestor. Despite the much darker brown color of his skin and somewhat slimmer build there were many similarities. “Majih, I assume that containment field issue is history?”

His Chief Engineer placing his hands on his thighs, grinning with a playful twitch of his right ear.

“Yes sir. Turned out one of the field emitters had a faulty power coupling. It couldn’t compensate for sudden random fluctuations. Replaced it and she’s been purring ever since.”

Raeth nodded in approval.

“Now let’s find out if she can roar too. I--”

His voice trailed off because of a soft buzz that caught his attention. The source of the sound turned out to be a hovering metallic sphere, about half a step in diameter. It appeared to look at him with one central blue glowing eye and a pair of spikey extensions on its sides. Judging from its approach angle it seemed to have taken off from a small docking platform attached to one of the support pylons of the main reactor core.

The low frequency buzzing sound was strangely soothing to the ear. It changed pitch a couple of times as the device adjusted its position to join the circle of engineers as if it were a member of the team. After a short series of blips, it held position next to the only female member of the group from Raeth’s point of view and seemed to enter a standby mode.

“I guess that’s new.”

“Allow me to explain, sir,” the young woman said. Her race was a mixture between his own and the smaller Orketh race as far as he could tell. He thought he spotted a glimpse of the characteristic striping. If that didn’t give it away, she did have the stormy gray eyes with a slight uneven discoloration in both. Then finally she had the more rounded muzzle tip of the smaller one of the two races. “The name’s Jacky by the way. We haven’t had the chance to talk yet.”

Her name was as unusual as her appearance. He had read her profile though. _Raised by humans. No record of any living relatives. Must’ve been tough._ It was hard to forget those kinds of details. Judging by her lowering right ear she seemed to expect a question about it. He guessed that happened to her more often, thus his decision to refrain from asking was deliberate.

“Please do so, Jacky _._ ”

“Sir, consider this unit an extension of the ship’s computer. It’s got everything from its own suite of sensors to camera and holo-projection capabilities.”

“It’ll also allow us to stay in direct visual contact with you on the bridge while we work, _Ginjha_ ,” Majih added. “It’s a new piece of equipment and for now confined to main engineering. Jacky and Itan have done some testing and I have no objections to the results. So, with your permission?”

“For everything that happens in here, I trust on your good judgment, Majih. Let that be clear.”

“Understood.”

“Are we ready to go?”

Majih looked to his right.

“Itan, those calibrations?”

The hulking slate gray Goureg responded with a grunt. His voice was very deep and bassy but calm nonetheless and felt in the stomach area.

“Finished. We can warp and jump on your discretion.”

Raeth’s response was a single clear nod.

“All right. Dismissed and standby.”

The gunnery deck was one level up next to crew quarters. The mess hall was also located on the same deck. It was at the same time a recreational area and if the situation called for it a briefing room. Sickbay was in the back. The gunner stations were located closer to the center. Crew quarters and the mess hall took up most of the space from the bow until about half the ship’s length.

The _Myr’loa_ class was one of the Guard’s smaller cruisers with a length of about 240 steps. Its design philosophy aimed at accommodating every member of their species in relative comfort. The sleek exterior housed a lot of cleverly arranged internal volume. With the thrust vectoring fusion engines, mounted in large heavily armored and shielded pods on the forward and aft flanks, available space was increased even more.

Raeth and Jirro took the elevator platform to the left as they exited the engine room, a quick tap on the control panel bringing them up to deck two. The elevator platforms were simple in their design and function. No doors, only a railing to hold on to during their quick up or down jumps. At last, a safety force field prevented any body parts from getting between the platform and the dividing construction between decks.

As he stepped off the platform, Raeth found himself standing in a similar corridor as was present on the deck below. It was present on decks two till four running through the center of the ship. To his left were the sickbay doors, granting access to a small but state-of-the-art medical facility and adjacent storage rooms. To the right was their next destination.

The room from where the ship’s manned turrets were controlled was little more than a rectangular widening of the main corridor. Both sides could be sealed off airtight. Doors in the middle of the left and right walls offered access to the two main armories. The main feature of the gunnery deck were the four gunner stations. The seats were similar in design to all others, but the back was designed to enclose the occupant to a greater degree. A long arm, adjustable in angle and height, extended from the ceiling, the console itself mounted on the end of it. There were fewer controls compared to the workstations in main engineering but a much larger curved projected display. A pair of sturdy joysticks extended from underneath the control panel.

The stations were positioned at an equal distance from each other, with enough passing space in between. They offered direct control of the double-barreled Gatling pulse cannons mounted on turrets on the ship’s dorsal section. Standing between and around the seats were the members of the team that would man these stations in red alert situations. It appeared Trezka found it necessary to gather her small security force at the same time as well. Nine Mantrins now shared this space but it was possible.

“ _Ginjha and Kaedar on deck!_ ” Trezka’s voice bellowed, seven fists hitting the side of a chest shortly thereafter.

As Raeth ordered everyone to return to their previous posture he let his eyes slide over the two groups. They were an unusual bunch and that was putting it mildly. No two of them were the same, regardless of race. Trezka’s security team next to herself consisted of two others. A rather huge and intimidating black Logri, Norgu. And a small rock-gray Fjetanha called Nami, her long jet black hair worn in a thick braid on her back.

The faces of the gunners and especially their service records he would never be able to shake out of his mind. The appearance of each one of them betrayed that they were anything but normal. Thylun, a Sogowan albino with a bionic implant replacing his blind right eye. Weyan, a Sogowan Logri crossbreed with a skin looking like patchwork with all the black spots of various shapes and sizes on a dark brown base. Then Masai, a Sogowan Mantrinesse bearing the scars of a severe drug addiction that almost claimed her life. Azdar led the group, a very dark-skinned Sogowan that had his entire left foot up to the ankle replaced by a metal prosthetic. The gunners were all enlisted officers. The collars of their uniforms had only a black edge, instead of being full black. They also wore different sets of rank insignias on each half of the neck opening. This only marked them as specialists in their field and they were as much a part of the crew as all the others. “All gunners present as ordered, sir. I requested my security team to be present of my own volition.”

“Excellent, Trezka.”

Raeth took a slight breath, making eye contact with each of the gunners before speaking.

“As enlisted officers, you have hereby chosen to join this crew, so from now on you are a part of it. That also means I expect to have your dedication, your sworn duty to protect this ship. I know you won’t let me down.”

He turned his attention to the Mantrin with the metal foot with the rank of Chief Gunnery Officer. Azdar stepped forward, the metal of his left foot hitting the deck with a loud metallic bang, the vibrations resonating through the deck.

“Sir,” he growled, eyes narrowed to slits.

His voice sounded as if the mere presence of others irritated him. Raeth assumed for now that it was the way he was, for he knew this guy carried a lot under his belt.

“Keep your team together and on alert. I might schedule a drill to give these guns a spin. See how they perform.”

“Understood, sir.”

For a slight moment, Raeth caught himself staring into the golden brown eyes of his subordinate, who stared back with a certain level of audaciousness. “ _A bit too much for my taste,”_ he thought. He had hoped to see a little more of his state of mind in them. He couldn’t quite figure out if he was ready to give his life for the ship or kill his _Ginjha_ right on the spot for being ordered around. Assuming neither, he dismissed everyone and proceeded through the ranks, followed by Trezka, with Jirro on his side.

“First shift on the bridge is mine,” said Trezka, “I’ll take the other platform.”

As Raeth and Jirro stepped on the adjacent platform, they watched Trezka disappear in the above direction. This was the moment Raeth had been waiting for. His hand hovered above the control panel, until he turned his attention to his taller _Kaedar_. Wondering about the delay, the emerald eyes were already looking down upon him and for a split tick Raeth felt a stab of mild anger. He was fed up with the tight-lipped attitude. Whatever his problem was, the time to resolve it was now.

“Jirro, this is off the record so you can call me Raeth while we’re having this conversation. You haven’t spoken a word since we stepped aboard and frankly, it’s starting to get to me. You are my _Kaedar_ and if you’ve got a problem with that, I’d like to hear about it, this instant.”

The size of the platform didn’t allow for much freedom of movement but the large Ryrjhii crossbreed did move his one foot a couple of inches backward. Raeth did the same for a more confronting stance. His grunt was accompanied by a burst of air out of his nostrils.

“Sir.” He dragged the word out a bit. It was obvious he didn’t expect this. The discomforting size of their surroundings didn’t help much either. Raeth had him cornered and they both knew it. “You are my _Ginjha_ so you can expect me to follow your orders. I do not enjoy small talk, so unless you order me to, I’d like our relationship to remain professional.”

_Well, at least I know what I’m up against. The tough guy who doesn’t wanna talk. Fine._

“All right. You’ve got your wish granted. I’ve heard enough.”

Turning to face the opening of the platform, Raeth hit the button to take them to the upper deck. Jirro also retook his previous position but Raeth noticed that he kept looking at him from the corner of his eye. _Whatever. He might warm up after a while. He’s still gonna be stuck with me and everyone else._

The top deck was much smaller than all others. Located at the front of the ship, it housed only the bridge, _Ginjha’s_ ready room and _Ginjha’s_ and _Kaedar_ ’s quarters. The platform brought them up to the corridor behind the bridge section. It was a much shorter imitation of the central connection running between fore and aft on the lower decks.

When he stepped off the platform, his ready room was to the left in the far back, currently sealed by a pair of opaque doors. Between this door and the elevator platforms, opposite to each other, were the doors of his and Jirro’s quarters. For now, their destination was the bridge to the right, the only thing in between being the entrance of bathroom facilities which were present on every deck. The entire command module could be shut off from the rest of the ship by an airlock door. The only evidence of this were the markings on the deck and the frame running around the bulkheads and ceiling.

As he set foot on the bridge followed by Jirro, all officers present stood near their stations, a fist placed on their chest in a wordless and respectful salute. The back bulkheads were flat, with a slight angle toward the outer edges. The whole front barrier was transparent, forming about half a circle where attached to the deck. The panoramic construction was divided in five equal surfaces by support beams that ran from the edge of the deck. They connected to the ceiling that extended from the center back of the bridge until it met the dome at the height of the commanding officer’s chair.

The _Ginjha’s_ seat was similar in design to all others but with larger armrests and integrated controls. The _Kaedar_ ’s chair flanked his on the right from his current point of view. On the left was a spare seat reserved for important passengers when required on the bridge such as an ambassador. All three seats were placed on an elevated section of the floor. To the left, further down to the front was the tactical station while on the opposite side the science officer had a seat. The center front was taken by the stations of the pilot and navigator. Between the front two stations and the heightened platform, the seal of the Imperial Guard was engraved into the deck.

The bridge’s main viewer was a large rectangular projected surface, originating from two emitters in the support beams flanking the middle section of the panoramic viewport. Additional emitters projected two smaller secondary screens from the two remaining support beams. The right one displayed ship system status, the other their current location on a star map. The bridge was well lit by the overhead lighting. Through the large panoramic windows, Raeth could oversee the entire arm of the orbital spaceport, in the right corner the enormous mass of the station itself. For a moment his eyes glided over the faces of his officers. His own right hand turned into a fist and found its way to the left side of his chest, accompanied by a slight nod.

“I thank you all for your respect. Stations everyone. Let’s give her a run.”


	3. The Wind Changes

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 3 The Wind Changes

The ship was now theirs. For a moment, the crew fascinated him with the almost mechanical precision with which they carried out his first official order as commander of the ship. As Raeth took the seat in the center of the command deck, his subordinates took theirs in an orderly fashion. The act involved moving their tail in the spot between seat and backrest, then sliding themselves forward by gripping their feet on the deck and pulling their legs backward.

“Is she ready, Freya?”

“Aye, sir,” the young Orketh girl replied.

Sliding forward on her seat in a fluid motion, she adjusted the console to the right position and angle to work with. The moment her fingers started to dance over the panel, playing the virtual controls that blinked and moved under her touch like an instrument, the ship seemed to feel it. A slight increase in the low frequency hum of the power distribution systems. A mild vibration through the deck under his feet as the powerful fusion engines initiated their final self-test and warmup cycle. A change in the values and blink frequency of the highlighted parts on the right secondary viewer, currently serving as system status display.

“Syrran, did docking C&C give us what we need?”

The large slate gray Goureg turned a few degrees on his seat to look over his enormous square shoulder. His long bulky legs stretched in a relaxed position, only the heels of his large feet touching the deck.

“Departure request was received, sir. Transmission coming in now.”

“Put ‘em through.”

The seal of the Imperial Guard which the main viewer had been displaying up till then made place for the head of an officer from C&C. He greeted Raeth and his officers with a slight bow of his head before speaking. The control center was bustling with activity, filled with holographic displays and personnel operating them to keep the traffic around the enormous facility in order.

“Permission to undock granted, _Myr’loa_ 05\. Go out and earn her that name, _Ginjha_.”

The corner of Raeth’s beak curved into the beginning of a smile. From the corner of his eye he shot a glance at Jirro. The large _Ryrjhii_ crossbreed had his eyes locked in front of him but Raeth was pretty sure he noticed his _Kaedar_ was doing the same to him. One thing was certain; they were going to have a difference of opinion soon enough. He was in for quite a surprise.

“Don’t expect her to return without one.”

The officer flicked an ear, copying Raeth’s faint smile and turning it into a mild grin.

“We won’t let you. _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar._ Docking control out.”

His face and the background of the busy control center switched to an aft view of the ship instead. A black sea with an irregular pattern of tiny stars, like beacons in the night. These marked the locations of other solar systems. Other worlds like theirs. Only different. Most of them never explored before. It was time to pay them a visit.

“Bridge to engineering.”

Stretching his legs in front of him, popping a joint or two in the process, he only had to wait for a pair of ticks before the right secondary viewer displayed the head of his Chief Engineer. For a tick Majih’s head seemed to float but then he realized it was that hovering drone of theirs. It stabilized its position and adjusted for Majih’s, as the Talocaan Mantrin occupied one of the workstations. Sliding forward on his seat, adjusting the height and angle of the console to his physique, he replied as he tapped in a series of commands.

“Gimme a tick, sir. I believe she’s ready to roar like you wanted to find out, starting… now.”

“Syrran.”

The large Goureg’s only response was a grunt. The tap on his console got some machinery rolling. The soft hissing of an airlock being drained from breathable air below deck. The banging of heavy metal clamps that held the ship in position opening and leaving her to float. Then it was Freya’s turn, notifying everyone as she fired the maneuvering thrusters for the first time. The main sublight engines were much too powerful for these precise movements.

“Backing us off.”

Careful and controlled, not just taking the helm but feeling and gauging the ship’s responses as well, she moved her backwards out of the holding area. The pilot’s console was equipped with a U-shaped control yoke for more direct attitude control at sublight speeds. A mechanism allowed it to fold out of sight under the control panel.

The ship’s computer could still aid the pilot in manual maneuvers. This included compensating for any obstacle nearby that happened to escape the latter’s attention and might cause a collision. Although not recommended, it was also possible to turn computer guidance completely off for those extreme cases where cutting it close was the alternative to certain death.

With enough space between the immense docking arm, and free room to maneuver, Freya disengaged the thrusters and engaged the ship’s fusion impulse drive. Its power was delivered through the four large vectoring cylindrical nacelles attached to pylons on the forward and aft flanks. Being able to rotate around the pylon’s axis, in addition to a ninety-degree angle sideways, the engines could deliver thrust in any direction.

“Let’s see what you got, Freya.”

“I won’t disappoint you, sir.” A confident martial arts student ready to show off her honed skills to her master during the exam, that’s what her voice sounded like. There was a hint of obvious joy in it too which was common for pilots as they took the helm. They lived for it; a certain thrill similar to what warriors felt before entering a battlefield. From what he had read in her file, Freya could’ve been a fighter pilot, yet she chose to exchange one control stick for another. She was more than capable of handling either of them as she was about to show.

Grabbing both ends of the stick which was very smooth to operate in its tilting and rotating to control pitch, roll and yaw, Raeth noticed how she tried to feel the _Myr’loa_ ’s response as she accelerated toward the emptiness of space above the docking arm. Their velocity increased together with her confidence. The acceleration was gradual but quick and due to the inertial compensators, unnoticeable by the crew, except for those looking outside through the viewports.

Freya followed a course plotted by Syrran, under manual control, that took them past the shipyards of Sogowa III. The barren uninhabitable world housed most of the shipbuilding and industry and disappeared in the left corner of the viewport. Having gained considerable speed, they were now heading toward open space in the direction of a set of coordinates received from command.

“I’ve got a course laid in. Ready to jump out.”

“Trezka, deflector shields?”

“They’re up, sir. Structural integrity fields at full strength.”

“Quantum drive ready,” Majih confirmed.

With everything green across the board, Raeth gave the order. Having confirmation, Freya let go of the control yoke and engaged the ship’s linear quantum drive. The decrease in power to the sublight fusion engines was audible as they shut down for the jump to faster-than-light speeds. Freya’s manual control stick automatically folded in and disappeared under the control panel. A large subset of controls on her console faded out as they couldn’t be used while the quantum drive was active.

For a split tick as he looked through the projection of the main viewer into the far reaches of space, Raeth noticed how everything around him seemed to stretch out. Dots of light from control panels, the lights on the bridge and even the stars themselves became lines. His ears picked up the sound of a quantum drive spooling up. A complex system of different parts worked together to prevent the ship from being ripped apart as it crossed from one plane of existence into another. And then, the stars outside seemed to turn into a stream. A tunnel of light through which the ship traveled. Had there been a certain tension in the air before, as if everyone present was collectively holding their breath at this critical moment, it dissipated with the audible exhale of certain members.

“Current speed holding steady at QV factor 12, _Ginjha_ ,” Freya reported. Putting her hands on her thighs, she stretched both her legs.

“That was just a little off, don’t you think?” Majih said, running an analysis on their performance. “The transition should’ve been smooth. That haziness wasn’t part of the deal but now that I’ve got some data to work with, I can compensate so it won’t happen again. I’ll be keeping a close eye on the drive while we’re underway. Contact me at any time, _Ginjha_. Engineering out.”

The image of their chief engineer in main engineering made place for a star map with their current course and progress. The ship currently maintained an average cruising speed, following a course that would take them to the outer edge of the Solbrecht system. Recent increased activity from pirates and smugglers required a more active patrol duty to be instigated to deal with the problem. Imperial starships together with vessels from other parties in the region took an active role in keeping the level of illegal activities under control.

“Jetreycka, put me on ship-wide.”

His science officer was a large medium brown Sogowan Mantrinesse with an unusual shade of caramel brown as the second color in her pattern. The inside of her ears created a much bigger contrast with their tan brown color which was lighter than the other two. The behavior of her left ear somewhat reminded him of his own daughter’s, although Trynn had the hanging ear problem with her right one.

Jetreycka’s right inner ear had a darker spot in the center and a pierced lobe, with three small interlocking wooden rings dangling from it. They rattled as she flicked it in a response to his order. In turn, Raeth rose from the command chair, towering well above the seated crewmembers and cleared his throat.

“All hands, this is your _Ginjha_. We are currently on course for the Solbrecht system border for a routine patrol. ETA is about one-and-a-half cycle. I’m also aware that we haven’t had time for formal introductions yet but I’m sure we’ll get to know each other while we carry out our duties. Our general orders are simple for now so mine will be no different. This is a new ship. In fact, she’s so fresh she hasn’t got a name yet. It’s up to us to name her and keep an eye on her while she performs. Anything of significance I want noted in the ship’s log. _Hyami_ and carry on.”

Raeth eyes found the Imperial Guard seal, engraved into the deck between his feet. The tips of the claws at the end of his large toes were close to touching the outer ring of the symbol of might, courage, loyalty and at the same time so much more. A myriad of thoughts swarmed through his mind in that one moment.

He had left his family behind and in exchange received a crew to take care of. It was his responsibility to carry out any mission handed down from command with success and get the crew home afterwards. They were now his family.

Taking a calm but deep breath through his nose, he looked up straight and then at his _Kaedar_. Jirro had his emerald glare ready for him but Raeth averted it and took the first few steps to leave the bridge.

“ _Kaedar_ , the bridge is yours for the moment. I’ll be in my ready room.”

***

The ship’s mess hall was spacious, located in a forward section of the ship and fulfilled several roles. It was the place where everyone came to grab a meal between shifts and a recreational area with comfortable seating positions. A main feature was the galley and storage space for a limited supply of fresh food. Of course, if that supply ran out, standard issue rations could sustain them for an extended period. Every Imperial outpost, colony or station had tons of these in reserve, so restocking wouldn’t be a problem.

Baika had exactly this on her mind when the automatic doors of the mess hall opened to let her through. The heads of those present turned to see who entered the room but the conversations continued like they hadn’t noticed her. She was pretty sure it was nothing personal. Everyone was still getting to know each other and serving the same role aboard the ship had already caused certain groups to form.

The mess hall was focused around three long rectangular tables. They were low to the floor and with enough space between the long ends to allow two crewmembers to pass each other without bumping legs or hitting the heads of those seated. These long ends could seat four crewmembers each on large seating pillows, held in place by cutouts into the deck. Even with the entire crew in here, which would be a rare occasion as at least a third of the crew would be running a duty shift at any time, they still had room for guests. She figured that would be a rare occasion as well.

Standing in the door opening, she had the short end of the middle table about two steps in front of her. A narrow in height, but very wide viewport ran across the entire front bow. With the ship traveling at quantum velocity, the mesmerizing display of traveling through a tunnel of light played with what little shadows there were in the well-lit room. Filters were responsible for keeping any disturbing flickering to a minimum.

At the far end of the right table, the ship’s gunners had formed a group. Baika knew very well that her kind featured an incredible diversity in its different races, crossbreeds and peculiar deviations but they were an unusual bunch by any standard. She hadn’t talked to them yet and they didn’t seem to take any particular interest in her or anyone else of the crew, except for themselves.

In the middle of the first table, at the third positions from her point of view sat the two remaining members of the ship’s security force. Nami was a long-haired Fjetanha, Norgu a hulking black Logri. It appeared he had told some sort of joke because Nami chuckled and shortly thereafter his thundering laugh followed. Then finally, on her left sat a large Sogowan male and with his back toward her, a Goureg whose skin had a very unusual and very bluish color of gray and a very long tail. She wasn’t sure how well her people kept records regarding tail length of citizens. He’d belong to the top one percent, at least of his particular race.

She heaved a small sigh. Just when she decided that she’d sit alone unless anyone asked her to join, the Sogowan male beckoned her closer at which the Goureg looked over his shoulder. The edges of their beaks curved upwards and in response Baika’s did too. She had hoped that Jacky would be here. She shared quarters with her, and they were the same race, at least partly in Jacky’s case. But on this first flight, all engineers were required to be in main engineering. Still, her enthusiasm grew as this meant she would get to know some of the other members of the crew better.

“You can sit with us if you like.”

The Sogowan gestured at the available spot to his right. Taken in by his kindness, the deep soothing tone of his calm voice being an aid on his part, she accepted the invitation, trying not to show too much excitement.

“ _Hyami._ ” Lowering herself on the corner pillow on his side of the table, she let her arms rest on her thighs as she sat back from the table. It was evident that they were both quite a bit taller than she was. Their respective races on average featured a much larger mass and height than hers, but she didn’t feel intimidated at all. In fact, she felt that they were both trying to make her feel at ease.

“ _Ano hori deh?_ ”

“I’m fine. I’m Baika.”

“ _Nyehari_ Le’tan, House of Eshir. That’s Houn.”

The Goureg greeted her with a bit of a shy nod. He didn’t say anything, just smiled from the corner of his mouth. What caught her attention though were his eyes, which were a bright royal blue, like jewels, a kind sparkle in both. It was as if the gene responsible for the color blue had taken over his entire body. She avoided staring though. It would be impolite, and she didn’t want to make him feel uneasy. Although she found it hard to estimate his age, he had to be very young. Even younger than herself, though with 26 solar cycles she was still considered a girl by everyone she met. She estimated Le’tan around 30 cycles, more due to the mature tone of his voice than by his appearance for he could pretend to be younger with ease.

“Still settling in?”

“Actually, I’m awaiting my turn for bridge duty. I’m a science officer and Jetreycka’s my superior so she’s running first shift. We don’t have any science projects set up yet in the lab, so I’ve got some time to waste. Pretty sure it’ll change soon.”

Le’tan chuckled, shifting his position on the pillow to turn a bit more toward her, using his long muscular arms to lift himself.

“Don’t tell me you’re bored already. Don’t worry, same here. I’m first pilot but Freya couldn’t contain her excitement. Houn is second navigator.”

“Sorry for being curious but, where’re you guys from? I’m from Solbrecht myself.”

“I’m from Solbrecht,” Houn said. It was the first time he said anything after she joined their conversation. She had already figured that he suffered from an inherent form of shyness. He was kind, she could hear it in his voice that still had a somewhat boyish tone to it. Leaning forward he crossed his arms over his chest and rested his elbows on the table in front of him. His ears, which were large for his kind, perked up now that he had found a new way to take part. “My parents live in _Uhna’hir_. It’s a city on the northern half of Rihlos.”

“I’m from the southern parts. _Ingaea_ province. My whole family lives there.”

“Are you a member of the _Oghuni Teh Neywa_?” Le’tan asked, his right ear flattening somewhat, a hint of astonishment slipping into his voice.

He was right though and referring to the domed Orketh societies common to this region of southern Solbrecht. In these, many families shared the same larger roof and had their houses built under it. The air within the dome was regulated by a climate control system to keep temperature and humidity at comfortable levels throughout the year. This unique way of living was the ultimate example of her race of Mantrin sticking to themselves and their own ways. She was proud to be part of her community. Baika nodded.

“I also carry the mark of mine, the _Ahwali_ ” she said, briefly touching her left upper arm.

With her shoulders and arms covered by the red long-sleeved uniform shirt, they couldn’t see it but on the spot she touched, an intricate tattoo marked her chestnut brown skin. Her community settled around a very tall, very ancient native tree, symbolizing the essence of life and the origin point of the group. It was therefore no surprise that all members bore a tattoo that came in different varieties, but always resembled the tree.

“Impressive.” Le’tan’s voice sounded sincere. “Of course, it also means that you speak fluent _Cadaii_.”

Baika nodded in affirmation and added a chuckle. Le’tan referred to her native dialect, a language spoken almost solely between members of her race, in both modern and traditional societies.

“ _Una’be, Baika. So’owa iwame?_ ”

Le’tan smiled.

“I think you just introduced yourself to me and asked me my name, am I right?”

She nodded and smiled back.

“That was an easy one. So? Your response?”

“Eh… _una’be, Le’tan._ ”

His response was a bit hesitant but correct, nonetheless.

“I might teach you a thing or two.”

He laughed.

“Who knows. I guess I was mistaken to believe that your kind doesn’t get out much.”

“It’s all right. I know what they say. It’s true we don’t get out much but, it’s not like we’re not allowed to. Or that we’re being held captive by our way of life. It’s just that most of us are happy the way we live. Only I got ambitious.”

“Same here,” Houn said, dragging their attention back to him. “I wanted to be more than just a shop worker or work at the factory like my _kharii_. My parents always encouraged me to become more than that. I’m glad to be out here. I only hope I can get along with everyone.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that, son. ‘Cause we’re going to be working together.”

Le’tan seemed very capable of taking away people’s worries in the blink of an eye. Houn smiled and his intense blue eyes sparkled with gratefulness and a hint of relief for a moment. Baika had to admit, she felt the same thing. This was far from her first assignment but apart from some short introductions during the prep cycles she wasn’t acquainted with any of the crew. This ship was one of the Guard’s latest designs and for the first few in the series, they only selected members from the top of the class to crew them.

“What about you, Le’tan? Where’re you from?”

Houn apologized shortly thereafter for his curiosity when his more experienced fellow crewmember didn’t reply straight away. Baika noticed how the Sogowan’s right ear lowered and the expression on his face changed to discomfort as he bit on the left side of his lower lip.

“It’s all right, Houn,” he said, forcing himself to remove the visible pain with a wry smile but succeeding only partly.

Houn’s question had struck a nerve, a rather painful one by the looks of it. She almost felt sorry about starting the whole thing and ending up making him feel uneasy.

“Hey, if you don’t wanna talk about it, we don’t mind.”

This time his smile was genuine, looking into her eyes once more.

“No, no, it’s fine, Baika.”

He took a breath before continuing, scratching behind the base of his lowered left ear.

“It’s still not that easy to talk about. I grew up on Solbrecht too but, where it seems that you were spending your lives in comfort and had family and people around you who encouraged you to grow into whatever you liked doing, my life was more or less the opposite of that. My community is one of those that values a traditional way of life. No technology, no modern lifestyle, no outside influence. A _Wa’syr Uya_ , as they call them in _Saerinian_.”

“I’m familiar with them,” Houn said. “Several of those groups lived around the city where I grew up. People were strongly advised not to look them up because they could be violent, even to us.”

“You’re right, unfortunately. Even though we lived in relative peace with the neighboring settlements, they would meet with fierce resistance if they tried to expand into our territory. On top of that, we were strictly forbidden to leave, hesitant to let new members join and yes this happened now and then. My parents raised me according to our ways, punished me if I resisted. I… I had to leave. I didn’t belong there. Taught to hate. Taught to defy everything that might change our way of life. I’ll most likely never see them again. I can’t go back, even if I wanted too. Leaving means banishing oneself.”

As he told them all this Baika kept quiet the whole time. She was certain he could read her feelings of compassion off her face, which must’ve been like an open book. Of course, the _Ahwali_ had their own challenges to deal with, being mostly dependent on the providence of the planet itself, as it should be according to their beliefs and those of many others. But compared to the cold and unforgiving environment in which Le’tan grew up, she felt like she grew up in a veritable utopia. The way he looked at her with those large pools of warm copper only increased her empathy for him.

“They’d kill me.”

The certainty with which he spoke as well as the change in his tone of voice shocked her. _Could they truly be this cruel?_ She had never heard of a parent killing his or her own child. At least not within the safe walls of her ancestral home. Then again, the moment she decided to take one step outside, she had learned that the world and the galaxy outside were much more unforgiving than she could’ve imagined.

“I can’t… I can’t believe they’d do that.”

It was not that she wanted to question Le’tan’s words. She only hoped it _wasn’t_ like that. After all, he knew his parents and the people amongst which he grew up much better than she did. Judging by the way he smiled, he wanted to believe it as much as she did. Still wry but with a sparkle of hope glittering in his eyes.

“Maybe. Just maybe things’ve changed. It’s been a long while since I left. I hope--”

“You think I like it here?!”

Their sharing of origins was roughly disturbed by sudden commotion on the other side of the mess hall. Baika noticed that the ship’s gun crew shared that table when she entered. The source of it seemed to be the large dark-skinned Sogowan of the bunch. He was the one standing on his feet. The aggravated, downright aggressive tone he decided to put up drew all attention in the room onto him. Towering above the rest, leaning over while blowing air out of his nostrils, he seemed to have moved into attack stance. His tail moved with short powerful flicks.

“You think I signed up for this because I had a choice?”

The only female member of the bunch tried to salvage the situation by talking to him on a calm tone. The one thing she seemed to succeed in was keeping him from exploding. Or maybe that was the only thing she considered worth aiming for.

“Nobody said anything like that, Azdar. We understand what you’ve been--”

“You don’t understand _anything_!”

For a couple of ticks, he pointed a clawed finger in the general direction of the other gunners, his hand shaking with restrained anger. Then, without further verbal communication he stomped out of the mess hall. The metal of his prosthetic left foot sounded like a pile driver on the deck plating. Everyone watched in silence until his footsteps had retreated far enough into the corridor leading to the back of the ship. The female gunner, Masai, was the first to say something.

“Don’t blame him for becoming what he is now. It’s not his fault. Very few of us know what it’s like to endure what he’s been through.”

Blaming the angry Sogowan for his outburst was the last thing on Baika’s mind. She had heard it in his voice, under all that anger. He used that to cover up something that went far deeper and caused a lot of pain.

“Doesn’t he have someone to help him deal with it and move on?” Nami, the rock-gray Fjetanha asked.

Masai sighed, her ears that couldn’t seem to reach an upright position lowering even more.

“Believe me, I’ve been trying. He’s so darn stubborn. Doesn’t want to accept help from anyone. So far, I’m the only one he’s talked to about it. I’m not gonna tell anything. I made him a promise.”

“So… did you guys know each other before this assignment?” Baika asked, beginning to feel that it was pointless to try and dive any further into Azdar’s past.

“Azdar and I shared a ship before we got transferred. I met Thylun and Weyan a couple of days ago.”

“Thy’ and I went through some combat training sessions together,” the latter said with a warm tenor voice, having rotated on his seating pillow to face the rest of the attendants in the room. “Might even have been part of the same unit if they hadn’t changed plans at the last moment.”

Both he and Thylun had an unusual exterior to show off. His skin was like a kind of patchwork of dark brown and almost black spots. Thylun had a very rare and extensive form of albinism. The red uniform of the Guard seemed to enhance its own color and the whiteness of his skin even more, creating the illusion of a glowing epidermis.

“It might not be coincidence after all that they decided to put us together again,” Thylun said. “We made quite a team.”

“All right you grunts, welcome aboard,” Nami said. “Everything to your liking so far?”

They both grunted in unison.

“I hope the rations are better than standard issue Marine Corps,” Thylun said, his voice coated with a thin layer of sarcasm.

“I thought we had some fresh food in stock,” Weyan interjected, throwing a look in the direction of the galley. “Hey is there a cook among you guys? I know how to prepare roast. My _kharii_ and I used to go on hunting trips together and stuff. But I’m not that great at anything else.”

“Sure, I can cook,” Baika said, some enthusiasm slipping into her voice.

“That’d be great.”

“Yeah, if you hand me some fresh ingredients, I’m sure I can cook something up. Used to do it all the time back home.”

It was one of the basic things that all members of her community had to learn as part of their way of growing up. Not just the _Ahwali_ but all members part of the _Oghuni Teh Neywa_ shared a couple of basic rules. Contribution to and acting on behalf of the greater good were among the most important ones. Her knowledge of preparing food went further than cooking though. The gathering of and to a lesser degree hunting for it was equally important. On top of that came learning all about which plants, fruits, nuts and seeds were edible and which ones looked or smelled similar but were harmful when consumed. Of course, aboard the ship, those last things were taken care of. She began to look forward to sharing some of that knowledge.

“I hope at least some of you are up for it, ‘cause I’m not planning to give up my career and be your cook for the whole of our journey.”

***

Raeth considered his ready room spacious. The large sturdy wooden desk was placed in the center of the room. He himself sat on a large comfortable seating pillow, facing the entrance. Two more for visitors were placed on the other side of the desk. The space below the desk was big enough for him to fold his enormous triple-jointed legs underneath.

The viewport behind his back mirrored the design of the panoramic construction on the bridge, smaller but serving as the entire back wall of the room. Large red banners made from a thickly-woven cloth with in black the seal of the guard on them hung on both sides of the semi-transparent sliding doors. These had the seal imprinted in them as well, at eye level of the average member of his species.

A small open display cabinet held some of Raeth’s personal possessions. One of such things was a small collection of sculptures of warriors from the ancient past. Called _Uhmir Ehrath_ , they were common, but each one was unique and handmade, with many cycles of artistic skill going into each piece. Other examples were the honor tokens he had earned while serving the Guard. He had also collected several unusual artifacts of worlds he visited during missions of exploration, negotiation and on rarer occasions, combat support.

Scattered across the room were a few Sogowa-native plants that required little care. They spread a very faint mélange of sweet odors that reminded of home for anyone who entered. Having spent some time in the room already, Raeth didn’t notice this anymore as his mind had already sent every trace of the natural aroma to the background. He scrolled through the information on the holographic projected screen with near rhythmic finger taps on the virtual keyboard projected on the desk’s surface. He began to wonder why he did this. It was not as if the dossiers of the members of his crew could tell him more about who they were. The only way to get to know them better was talk to them, work with them, solve problems with them and if the situation demanded it, fight with them.

Folding his hands over each other in front of him on the desk, he took a deep breath and slowly let the air out of his lungs through his mouth. _Enough of this pondering. I’ve got better things to do._ With a few quick taps he dismissed the personnel files, then decided to have a look at the first set of status reports. The first and largest was from main engineering. Since it was marked with normal priority, he assumed everything was under control down on the lower decks. As he scanned through it, it turned out his trust in Majih’s competence was not misplaced.

He was about to close the report, deciding to review it later when there was a sudden pitch change in the soothing sound of the quantum drive and a mild vibration of the deck. Although the feeling was absorbed by his seating pillow, it did go through his folded legs that were in direct contact with the carpeted floor.

“Computer, did we just change course?”

The computer’s voice was female, had a youthful tone to it and its response was almost instant. It felt as natural as a latest generation artificial intelligence could be.

“Affirmative.”

“By who’s orders?”

“The order was issued by _Kaedar_ Jirro.”

_Jirro. What’s he doing changing course without my approval and without so much as notifying me?_

“What’s our new heading?”

“That information is classified.”

“Raeth to--”

“Bridge to _Ginjha_.”

_You better have a good explanation for this._

He’d almost gotten up to get to the bridge himself, pushing himself up on his strong arms, legs half uncrossed. Suppressing a mild stab of anger, he was meticulous not to let it slip into his voice. Knowing in the back of his head that his _Kaedar_ wouldn’t issue an order to change course for no reason at all, he crossed his legs under the desk again and let him know he was listening.

“Care to elaborate, Jirro?”

“Sir, we are responding to new orders from higher up. An incoming priority transmission is waiting for you on a secured channel.”

“ _Hyami, Kaedar._ Patch it through to my ready room.” His XO acknowledged with a light grunt. The projected screen in front of him displayed the Imperial Guard seal, then turned opaque. He hadn’t expected to see the _Nezvhan Rhaa_ again this soon. Khyrzan’s face had twisted in a serious glare and his bright blue-greenish eyes seemed to carry a flame as if he prepared to take matters into his own hands. “Sir, my _Kaedar_ informed me about the change of heading. What are we in for?”

The _Nezvhan Rhaa_ snorted, his right ear giving a light twitch.

“I’m diverting you from your previous course to the Bynali system, to investigate the sudden disappearance of one of our ships, the _Hanii Nyra_. It’s a heavy cruiser, Laeisia class. You’ll find any relevant details about her in the database.”

“Understood, sir,” Raeth said after a short pause, realizing the situation was more serious than he thought.

Laeisia class starships were well-armed, well-equipped and were therefore capable of handling most situations on their own. Pirates and raiders avoided them unless they felt courageous. During raids they often made use of the environment to stage a good ambush to try and gain the upper hand. But nothing was impossible out in deep space. Nobody in his right mind would rule out the countless destructive phenomena any ship, no matter how strong its armament, shields or hull, could fall prey to.

“Remember Raeth, this is exactly what you and your crew were put together for. A fast response team, standing by at all times to react to anything that might happen in a sector nearby. I know I can trust you with this.”

“ _Hyami_ , sir.”

“Keep me posted,” Khyrzan said with a quick nod, ending the transmission without waiting for a response.

Raeth didn’t have to think twice about what to do next. The computer had released the lockout from all information related to their new destination in a response to the briefing. With the ship’s speed increased to maximum and their changed heading it would take them less than a cycle to reach Bynali. It was a system not far from the Empire’s borders and at least two of its planets had proven suitable for colonization with little projected terraforming effort.

It would still take some time before the first permanent settlement was a reality. Other powers had shown great interest in the system as well and a political debate between them and the Empire was still going on. Until a decision was made about settlement locations and resource sharing, access to the system was restricted. However, this was of no concern if the lives of an entire crew were at stake. As he reviewed the latest report on the situation this was the exact thought that crept into his mind.

_Can’t let politics get in the way of saving lives._

***

They were less than a tenth of a cycle away from the coordinates and the whole ship had moved up one alert level as they didn’t know what to expect. On the bridge everyone was at their post. Raeth had ordered them to keep an eye out for anything unusual as they covered the last bit of distance to the edge of the Bynali system.

Flexing his muscles to get some of the tension he felt out of his body, he took a breath and forced himself to focus. Short reaction times were critical in the next moment. He knew everyone else felt it too to some degree, although they all seemed good at hiding it.

“Sir, I’m picking up something on sensors. Coming in from behind.”

Jetreycka had his immediate attention. As they approached the system, they had reduced their speed somewhat. It turned out this allowed for someone or something to catch up.

“Identify.”

He noticed some heads snapped in her direction, but everyone regained their focus at the sound of his voice. He heard the little wooden rings in Jetreycka’s right ear rattle as she flicked it. Concentration drew its lines in her face as she worked the console.

“We got a ship. Trezka, you better take it from here.”

“Got it.”

The other Sogowan Mantrinesse with the face scarred from combat licked her right fang with the tip of her tongue. With a few quick taps she had a result and judging by the look on her face, Raeth could tell they were in for a real treat.

“Akrennian warship, battlecruiser type. Coming up fast. She’s charging weapons!”


	4. Double Encounter

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 4 Double Encounter

The words ‘Akrennian’ and ‘warship’ vaguely rang in Raeth’s ears. Time seemed to stretch into infinity as a swirl of thought took control of his mind, pushing it out of focus for what in reality were only a few ticks.

Very few things in the universe were as unstable as the relationship between the Akrennians and everyone else, but especially his own kind. Like oil and water. Unable to mix. Even when shaken like a cocktail. Neither side was to blame for this and yet both sides were at the same time. On countless occasions, they had demonstrated the uncanny ability to separate as utterly and completely as the two substances did after a short recess.

Unable to lay the foundations of a stronger alliance the current agreements had taken the form of a non-aggression pact. That was the term only used in official documents. Any _Ginjha_ who went out this far knew that things were less formal. The outcome of meetings such as these often depended on the mood of both commanders. Intentions were never clear until the exchange of harsh words, not even if actual shots were fired beforehand. He had a gut feeling that this was going to be another one of those _tough negotiations_.

“Alert status! Raise shields and keep weapons on standby.”

Snapping back to reality he vowed to deal with it in a quick and efficient way as the lives of the _Hanii Nyra_ ’s crew were at stake. Cruisers of her class carried a crew of around 200 individuals. Even if that number had counted two zeros less his approach would not have been different.

“Bridge to gun crew. Stations! Azdar, you better be on your way.”

One deck down, the short-tempered Sogowan answered his wristcom, tossing a look over his shoulder to check if every member of his four-headed team was still following his lead.

“Getting warmed up, sir! Masai, directly on the right. Thylun and Weyan, back left and right!”

Without paying attention to their confirmation he took the remaining station on the left next to Masai. With the station already on standby the weapon was ready to fire. Grabbing the control sticks, the master gunner’s fast instincts and reflexes leveled up a couple of notches as he adjusted to the level of response. This was what he and his team were good at. This was why they were a part of this new crew.

“Permission to fire when target’s in range, sir.”

“Negative! Remain on standby.”

Azdar’s response was a grunt of annoyance. It was enough for his commanding officer to realize his temperament was going to give him trouble sooner or later. A direct link between bridge and gunnery deck was established. A camera and projected display linked the latter space to the left secondary viewer on the former.

“Sir, we’re about to overshoot our destination.”

His navigator’s warning was justified yet it didn’t matter right now. There were too many unknown variables yet the time to decide was now.

“Jetreycka?”

“They haven’t answered any of our hails so far. Not even the one stating non-hostile intentions.”

“All right. Freya, increase speed to maximum and standby to drop back to sublight speed.”

“Sir?”

Her response was understandable, given their current predicament. If his line of thinking was correct it would be their best option. Getting ahead of their adversary would allow them to enter a better position should this encounter indeed turn out hostile. Chances of that were increasing with every passing tick.

“Do it.”

She kicked the quantum drive into its highest gear, rapidly increasing the distance between them and their pursuer. Tipping his head to the right, he noticed his _Kaedar_ ’s eyes were trying to find his. He was surprised to find them accompanied by an upward curve of the corner of his hooked beak. The odd sensation that struck Raeth upon seeing this disappeared when he remembered the details of Jirro’s profile. The words that came out of his _Kaedar_ ’s mouth and the way they expressed a certain desire to do battle confirmed it.

“I know what you’re up to.”

“Then you better hold on tight. Freya, on my mark. Steady.”

He dragged the last word out as tension rose to a critical moment. Multiple pairs of ears, including his own flattened in response. He felt how his foot claws scratched the deck as they tried to find grip on the metal surface, bracing instinctively for the moment.

“Now! Take us back to normal space! Prepare to meet them head-on.”

Majih kept his word. Whatever he promised to do to make the transition smoother, it worked, although this was in reverse. Still, cutting back from those unimaginable speeds to a virtual standstill didn’t go unnoticed. A mild shockwave knocked everyone forward. If this same event had taken place inside the atmosphere of a planet, the resulting blast would’ve ripped the crust over a considerable distance.

“Engineering to bridge. Sir, with all due respect, don’t do that again! Cutting power like that will fry the coils. I’ve got relays here ready to burst.”

“Sorry Majih, but with what we’re dealing up here, I might not even get the chance to do it again. You just keep the power to those shields and weapons flowing.”

His Chief Engineer swallowed his reply, confirming the order. In the meantime, their adversary had caught up with them and let them know that they weren’t playing.

“Visual contact!”

Raeth took an energizing breath as he focused on the image of the approaching vessel on screen. For a tick he was glad that the decision he made based on his earlier assumption was correct. Akrennian vessels used to be bulky, functional and sometimes unreliable pieces of hardware. Their engineers couldn’t match any of the work of the Imperial shipyards. More recently their ship designers had stepped up their game, churning out designs that were faster, more agile and much more powerful than the old ones. As a consequence, they now dealt with something that was their equal in more ways than one.

“Incoming missiles!” Trezka barked. “Point defense active and tracking.”

Next to the standard weapon systems, the manned pulse cannons and two sets of torpedo launchers in the bow and stern, _Myr’loa_ class ships were equipped with a laser point defense system. A series of small emitters on strategic positions on the hull intercepted incoming projectiles. These short-range defensive weapons weren’t powerful enough to inflict any real damage to enemy craft that managed to get past the primary armaments, but they were very effective in what they were designed to do.

“Freya, time for you to show once more what you’re made of.”

“Yes sir, going on the evasive.”

Grabbing both handles of the control yoke in front of her, the four powerful fusion engines roared to life. With their adversary right in front of them and the sudden burst of speed she made the ship roll with a subtle yank to the left. Meeting head-on as instructed the Akrennian ship reacted with a sideways evading maneuver of its own. The limited distance between both vessels shrunk further. Although moving like bolts of lightning, the point defense system intercepted the missiles with some distance to spare. A pair of explosions sent a short yellow blast of intense heat over the command deck. The physical effects were minimal yet tangible, but no damage was done as Trezka confirmed. Down on the gunnery deck Azdar had run out of patience.

“Ginjha,” he grunted through clenched teeth, frustration coating his voice.

“Cleared! Return fire!”

The Akrennian warship opened fire with her own powerful but slower firing particle cannons. The pulse cannons of the _Myr’loa_ , mounted on the dorsal section, offered an appropriate response. Advanced cooling systems allowed them to sustain an impressive rate of continuous fire. With Freya keeping the ship at the right angle the barrage looked like the fiery white-blue breath of an angry dragon. The pilots of both ships now tried their best to escape each other’s fire while keeping their own guns trained on the target. It was a deadly game that demanded the utmost of pilots and gunners.

“ _Gehk_!” Trezka cursed. “Shields won’t hold forever against this.”

“Syrran, anything nearby we can use to our advantage?” Raeth asked, bracing once more as the ship trembled under another series of shield impacts.

“That’s a negative sir,” the large Goureg grunted in response. “We overshot our actual destination considerably. The nearest objects are too far away at sublight speeds.”

“Okay got it. Majih, prepare for a small quantum jump.”

There was a hint of panic in his voice when his chief engineer replied. The ability to perform a small calculated jump, allowing the ship to instantaneously cross a distance of several lightyears by hopping in- and out of quantum space, was inherent of this method of propulsion. But it came with its own set of consequences. It drained the main reactor of all power. The singularity needed time to regenerate afterwards before resuming normal operation.

“Sir, I--”

“Majih, you’re the _Ginshe_ down there so I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Before they could exchange more words, a powerful blast sent a small shower of sparks raining down from the ceiling. Screens flickered and a thin layer of smoke clouded their vision before being sucked away by the atmospheric recycling system.

“That’s it! Shields are gone and… they’ve stopped firing?”

The disbelief in the expression on Trezka’s hard face leaked into her voice as she checked the readings.

“Hold fire! Azdar!”

The ill-tempered gunner was the last one to let go of the trigger and did so with a shout of anger. Trying to place himself in his situation Raeth had to admit it did feel like they lost the match, or didn’t they?

“Freya, full stop. What’s our status?”

“We’ve taken some minor damage but so did they,” Trezka said, licking a fang. “ _Gehk_ , should’ve used torpedoes. That would’ve taken ‘em down.”

“Then, why didn’t you?” Jirro said, the weight of his voice making it sound more like an accusation then a question.

There was something about the way he said it that made it feel like there was an underlying threat. The Mantrinesse that was the target of the question felt it too and it triggered a response. But before she could add poisonous words to her equally poisonous glare, Raeth intervened.

“This is not the time for a debate! And Trezka, watch your tongue.”

“Yes, sir,” she said without breaking eye contact.

Until Jetreycka grasped the attention of everyone.

“ _Ginjha_ , they’re finally ready to talk. They’re actually hailing us.”

“Well it’s about time,” Raeth said, letting go of an exasperated sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.

Placing his hands on the armrests of his seat he pushed himself upwards, stepping forward enough to have the engraved seal of the Guard between his large three-toed feet and room to put his tail to rest. He snorted, forcing himself to let go of the irritation that tensed his muscles like electricity. He didn’t need his anger right now.

When he noticed the presence of his _Kaedar_ next to him it struck him as odd to feel a sense of relief as they stood side-to-side. The effect was like putting a hand on one’s shoulder in some cultures although this gesture was not shared by his. He hoped that this was the first sign of Jirro willing to accept his command and work together instead of following orders like any other subordinate. Turning his head enough for him to notice, Jirro nodded once, emphasized by a light rumble in the throat.

“Let’s hear what this was all about.”

Signaling Jetreycka to answer their hail he focused on the main viewer, locked and zoomed in on the aggressive but sleek exterior of the Akrennian ship. It too did not show much scarring from their confrontation. They had been a match for each other. It also meant that their bridge wasn’t in a state of disarray either. In fact, their captain faced him with a sense of pride. _S_ _he_ was not what he expected.

She was tall, the primary color of her skin a shade of brown not unlike his own but darker, apart from the lighter accents of which the locations were similar to those of his own kind, with the brighter forearms and hands being the exceptions. Her lighter muzzle created a sharp contrast with the dark characteristic bony-looking ridges on top of her snout. Finally, the sharp horn between her nostrils was another feature that his species lacked. Too small to serve as an actual weapon in close combat, hers was long compared to most examples he had seen. It matched stance with the large ears that made her look even taller.

Her body was well-trained. It was noticeable even from a distance and reduced her species’ natural lankiness while keeping her feminine features elegantly intact. Raeth however was unfazed by her appearance. He had no doubt it would be interpreted by members of her kind as inescapable beauty.

He had more of an eye for the uniform she and the rest of her crew wore. The top part of the outfit was made of supple black leather and had short sleeves, with the insignia to discern rank worn on the left. The khaki trousers, bottom tucked in large sturdy boots completed the bottom part. It were these simple facts that told Raeth they were most likely dealing with the main branch of the Akrennian Militia which was a good thing.

Akrennian society was clan-based with the larger and more powerful families being in control of the most important aspects of their civilization such as science and technology, the government and justice systems and the military. It also meant that their society was literally divided, with the main branch of their fleet answering primarily to the central government on Akrennia. Other worlds with a large Akrennian presence like P’lochda had their own space force. This was the exact reason why it was so hard to deal with their kind as a whole.

Agreements on trade, mining, joint efforts, anything stayed within the sphere of influence of a single body, a single clan or group of clans and meant nothing to those outside of it. Only in times of great need and when it concerned their interests would the clans unite. It was so different from his own culture he had a hard time coping with it, even though he and many other _Ginjhas_ dealt with it on a regular basis as both empires were neighbors.

“You!”

Her voice was powerful yet unmistakably female, in tone similar to the larger members of his own kind. Her eyes, vivid orange and with a fiery spark, flashed as the word crossed her lips. Despite her species’ focus on the individual, he was pretty sure she didn’t mean him as a person but his kind as a whole. It had to be, as he was certain they had never met before. In his thoughts he congratulated her for her convincingly intimidating appearance in the middle of the somewhat ominously lit bridge of her warship.

“I could’ve known we would run into you sooner or later.” Her voice had an accusing tone to it. Raeth snorted, crossing his tree trunk-sized arms over his chest. Irritation drew lines into his forehead as his eyes narrowed to slits, a physical reaction to his restrained anger. His breathing became shallow and nasal, the frequency with which he replaced the air in his lungs increasing. “What’re you doing here? This is a restricted system, ” she barked.

“Which means we have as much right to be here as you do.”

Despite the anger he felt, his response was calm. She flicked an ear, copying his facial expression from the lowered ears to the narrowed eyes. By every means she seemed as obstinate as he was.

“ _We_ are here to investigate the disappearance of one of our ships. Curious that you’re the first we run into without taking so much as one step inside the system border.”

“Then I guess we have similar reasons for being here. Interesting way to start an investigation. But that’s the usual way of greeting each other out here, am I right?”

He could’ve blamed the incident solely on her yet unfortunately as he knew, fights were started as often by their side as the other. Every _Ginjha_ had a breaking point although it depended on too many outside factors to determine exactly when that point was reached. The lack of a direct accusation allowed them to continue the conversation on a civilized level.

“You mean?”

Raeth nodded.

“A joint effort might turn up something useful.”

She laughed scornfully yet seemed ready to accept his suggestion, until one of her officers captured her attention. At the same time Jetreycka picked up whatever it was on sensors as well.

“Sir, I’ve picked up another contact heading towards us.”

Raeth grinned.

“One of yours?”

The Akrennian woman looked back at him but shook her head and seemed annoyed.

“Terran vessel, Earth Alliance. Leave it up to the humans to stick their noses into everyone’s business.”

Putting everything he knew about Akrennians aside for a moment, Raeth racked his brains to dig up what he knew about humans, or Terrans as some species called them. Most of the things he knew were from his youth, which he spent on Solbrecht. His own kind shared the planet with them and several other ethnic minorities. Rather feeble creatures they were with some unusual physical traits.

The bodies of both males and females were covered with fine hairs yet they were too thin to serve any real purpose. Most of it was located on the top of their heads in both sexes and worn in different styles. This was equal to the way Mantrinesses of the Fjetanha race wore their hair, although human males almost always wore their hair short. For females it was different, sometimes long, sometimes short but he didn’t know exactly where the difference came from. They also generally seemed to lack physical strength, except in some individuals. They had no claws and no sharp teeth to show off.

Physically they were unimpressive, yet they had some redeeming qualities in other areas. Rational thinking seemed to be their strong part. They were quick to form alliances and discuss the terms of agreements if there were mutual benefits. In fact, the Empire dealt with them on a regular basis. Human technology was generally solid, reliable and their incredible curiosity fueled their thirst for knowledge. It meant they were strong in the science department as well.

But most important in a galaxy as treacherous as the one they shared, humans were generally trustworthy, at least more so than average, a commendable trait. If they were also here for the same reasons, they might be able to shed some light on the current situation and share their knowledge.

“They just dropped back to normal space, sir.”

“On secondary viewer and magnify.”

For a peaceful species, human starships always seemed to come well-prepared and this one was no exception. Much larger than both the Akrennian warship and the _Myr’loa_ , the massive superstructure in the middle was flanked on both sides by large extensions which gave the ship the look of a double-decked naval aircraft carrier. Instead of a flat deck for carrying fighter craft, both tops bristled with weaponry in the form of large beam cannons and missile launchers. Raeth wasn’t worried by the looks of this nonetheless impressive facade as humans only made use of those when provoked.

“The humans are hailing both us and the Akrennians, sir.”

“Put ‘em on side-by-side.”

The human captain was a tall middle-aged man, or so he assumed. His length appeared somewhat diminished by the spacious multi-layered bridge of his ship. His skin had a dark olive color and his head was bald apart from the short dark hair in a circular shape around his mouth which as he knew was called a beard.

The duty uniform of the Earth Alliance was a formal piece of attire in navy blue with golden accents. A single-breasted jacket, the buttons arranged in a diagonal curve over the right side of the chest, with shoulder straps, tall collar with rank insignias and matching pants. Raeth also knew that during formal meetings, human officers would also often wear a hat and if decorated for their accomplishments wear ribbons, badges and medals on the left side of the chest. Even though these were currently absent he felt that he was dealing with a man who had collected his fair share of them. He smiled but in a restrained way, a gesture not copied by his soon-to-be discussion partners.

“Greetings. Let me introduce myself. Theodore Benjamin, Earth Colonial Alliance starship _Devonshire_.”

The man had a pleasant tone of voice, lower in pitch than Raeth expected from a human. It seemed as if he felt the need to cool things a bit.

 _“Not even a strange approach,”_ Raeth thought, uncrossing his arms.

He let them fall beside his body as he revolved the last bit of tension out of his shoulders. The only thing the humans had detected on sensors was two starships exchanging fire shortly after arriving. The thought that the humans knew more about what was going on had already crept into his mind and solidified there like molten metal in a mold. There was a short pause but the Akrennian captain glared at him with a look on her face that told him she would only open her mouth after he did.

“Raeth, House of Meztar, Imperial warship _Myr’loa_ oh-five _._ ”

Now all the eyes were directed at her, yet her reply was swift and with it carried a sense of pride.

“Ayko, Tr’shka Clan, commanding the battlecruiser _Tsun’rhaa_.”

Captain Benjamin smiled again in the same manner as before yet the look on his face turned more serious thereafter. Raeth had the feeling he had a busy agenda and this incident didn’t fit into it, but he felt obligated to intervene.

“Glad we still have the pleasure to meet. I don’t know what this was about and honestly, it’s not really my concern but I urge you to consider resolving it later. I’m sure you’re both here for the exact same reason as all the others. We better step on it if we still want to make a difference.”

“Others?” Ayko blurted out, ignoring the human captain’s urge to make haste. “What others? I thought this system was restricted.”

The human heaved a small sigh.

“You might not’ve been informed by your higherups yet. The current restriction is under reconsideration and has been temporarily lifted. In light of recent events we’re trying to arrange an emergency meeting with all parties involved. Physical presence would make things a lot easier so I would like you both to be that presence, representing your government.”

“I will explain everything when we get to Bynali Four,” he added, in an attempt to erase the final hesitation. “You’re hereby both invited aboard my ship.”

“All right, I accept,” Raeth said. “I’ll be sure to inform my superiors.”

Ayko confirmed as well, signaling a subordinate. She then pointed a slender index finger at him, a rather insolent gesture or so Raeth thought. And so did Jirro, expressing his feelings of offence with a loud snort and a tail that hit the deck with an audible bang.

“We’ll continue this later.”

“I suggest you follow us. _Devonshire_ out.”

Both transmissions ended shortly after each other. The main viewer went back to displaying the exterior of Ayko’s ship, the _Tsun’rhaa_. The _Devonshire_ on the secondary viewer began a turning maneuver to move back to the Bynali system. Ordering Freya to follow the human ship he was about to leave for his ready room when Jirro failed to contain his anger. Stomping on the deck with his enormous right foot, shaking the bridge, the charcoal gray Mantrin with the hooked beak brought his thunderous voice to bear.

“Who does she think she is?” he bellowed. “We should’ve finished them off when we had the chance!”

Saliva started to froth at the corners of his mouth as he raged, some of it flying in the general direction of forward. For a moment, he had everyone’s attention. The Akrennian captain had driven Raeth close to the boiling point as well but Jirro’s current explosive display of violence, in his opinion, did not fit the outcome.

“Which would’ve accomplished what?” Raeth said with a raised voice, turning 90 degrees on his spot. He looked the furious giant in the eyes, with his arms crossed, ears lowering. Jirro’s smaller ears had already flattened to an aggressive stance. The emerald glare was more intense than ever before as his eyes shimmered with rage. “War with the Akrennians?”

“They fired first!”

“It doesn’t matter in the end! We’re on a mission to save lives! And apparently so are they. Now in about a cycle, I need my _Kaedar_ to behave in a dignified manner, befitting of his status, because we’ll be meeting with them.”

“Sir. I--”

“No! Calm yourself. And wipe your mouth.” Finally aware of the trickle of saliva that had dribbled down from the left corner of his beak, and made a small wet patch on his chest, he wiped his chin with a quick stroke from the back of his hand. “Now I’ll be in my ready room to inform _Nezvhan Rhaa_ Khyrzan of our current situation. And I want no further incidents, of any kind. Is that clear?”

He awaited everyone’s responses and as expected Jirro was the last.

“Yes, sir.”

***

Crawlspaces aboard starships were never really made to properly fit the members of the species that designed them. Majih had to find out for himself just how small they were aboard the Guard’s latest design much earlier than expected. Being a six-foot-tall Talocaan Mantrin he wasn’t that tall and hulking. But lying on his side, with his legs folded against his body, there was little room for his long tail and even less room to maneuver and get the job done.

That job was currently composed of replacing power couplings that were either damaged, or completely fried during the short bout mere moments ago. The damage wasn’t serious. They had enough spare units to fight at least ten more of these battles. He had only hoped to postpone crawling into the smallest spaces aboard the ship for a little longer.

“First they almost fry the coils. Then someone decides to start shooting at us for no reason,” he muttered under his breath.

Grinding his teeth in agitation, he pulled the next coupling out of its socket. Some of them popped out easier than others and sometimes he had to use considerable force. It was harder than it looked when working under less favorable angles. Putting in the new unit, flipping a switch to reenable the flow of power he checked the efficiency readings on his holo-pad. A satisfied smile crossed his beak when they reached 96 percent overall.

“ _All done_ ,” he thought, giving the two burned couplings a good shove in the direction of the crawlway’s exit as he rolled over to get on his knees. With the holo-pad in his right hand he used his left to keep balance as he moved toward the end of the square tube that led back to engineering. He did not expect Jacky, his colleague with the human name to appear at this end. Her voice, though not loud, bounced between the metallic walls of the tube and being strengthened by its own echo startled him. This made him realize in a painful way how little clearance he had. “Aaarghh!”

Groaning, as his head met the roof in a not so subtle way, the bang echoed after the sound of Jacky’s voice. He stopped to rub the stinging top of his head with his unoccupied hand. Looking up, a low agonizing growl in his throat, he noticing he had hit the tubing. The walls of the maintenance crawlway were far from smooth. In fact, they were lined over their entire length with protected circuitry, tubes, distribution nodes and other extensions. Jacky’s startled apology followed shortly thereafter.

“ _Uiisa_ , sir. Are you all right?”

As he listened with half an ear, his reply came out more agitated than intended.

“No!” Realizing how that sounded, his mouth one step further ahead of his mind, he forced his voice back to a normal volume. “I mean, yes. I mean… It’s fine. You startled me for a moment, that’s all.”

Crossing the last part to the end of the tube he kept his head low on purpose. The last part of climbing out was a bit tricky because the opening was raised about a step from deck-level. Stretching one leg forward, he twisted and turned himself out, made easier as Jacky had already taken care of the broken couplings. The Sogowan Orketh girl looked a little uneasy, her tail moving with quick nervous sweeps.

“It’s fine. Don’t get your tail in a twist,” Majih said, waving away her worries with a dismissive hand gesture. Now that they talked face-to-face, she seemed to relax. Her tense shoulders dropped a bit, her ears perked up a bit more and her tail dropped to a relaxed state. “Port side all done?”

She nodded.

“Yes sir. Couplings replaced and calibrations all done. Itan’s running a final diagnostic.”

She tipped her head toward the hulking Goureg, completing their team as the largest member. He occupied a seat behind one of the portside consoles, eyes focused on his work.

“Good work,” Majih praised, smiling in a satisfied manner. “It’s small in there but at least the problems are easy to track down. This ship’s a better patient than robot harvesters, I can tell ya that.”

Jacky flicked an ear.

“Your parents are?--”

“Farmers, yes. I used to help my _kharii_ out a lot with the heavy machinery. Take good care of them and they’ll take good care of you he always said.”

“That’s a nice saying. Kinda reminds me of something similar my _kharii_ always said. Although, that was my parents’ cargo ship and the ship took care of us, as a crew, and as a family.”

“So, what did he say?”

For a moment, she bit her bottom lip.

“It’s a little hard to translate. I grew up among humans and my parents were humans too. But it kinda means something like, treat her well and she’ll keep us safe and together.”

Majih laughed.

“I think that applies to us as well, as for any ship and its crew for that matter.” When he noticed her ears lowering and the uneasy look on her face, he didn’t have to ask what it was about as his head still hurt. Feeling the sore spot between his ears he noticed his skin was a bit sticky and wet. Looking at his fingers afterwards he noticed the glittering of serous fluid on the much lighter skin that covered the inside of his hands. The quasi-amused grin that played on his lips as he looked at her didn’t help. “It’s bruising, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she said with a frown. “A little.”

He shook his head and turned the fake grin into a real smile as he waved her unspoken apology away once more.

“Never mind. C’mon, let’s see how Itan’s doing.”

***

Plopping down on the seating pillow behind the wooden desk in his ready room, Raeth let go of a frustrated sigh. With his elbows resting on top of the desk he buried his elongated face in his hands. Rubbing his temples, a felt how his considerable weight pressed the air out of the pillow’s sturdy filling. Trying to let go of any anger he felt toward his _Kaedar_ , he couldn’t help but wonder if this was how it was going to be.

His species in general did suffer from inherent short-temperedness. Controlling one’s anger was challenging for many individuals. He even noticed that in his own daughter. Trynn had a sweet character, but now and then she threw her tantrums and she often made sure the neighbors could hear why she was angry. Never had she yelled at her younger brother Fran though. It was always reserved for her parents or whatever she was mad at. She and her brother shared a very special bond and she had always been protective of him. But it was impossible to compare Jirro with his children, or with any child for that matter.

Letting his hands slide off his cheeks and muzzle, letting them fall flat on the desk’s surface he felt the urge to fetch Jirro’s file on the holographic terminal in front of him, but he didn’t. It wouldn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know. Jirro was an angry person. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that anger had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember. No one to guide him. No one to teach him how to control that anger and turn all that pent-up energy into something useful. Joining the Imperial Army was how he figured it out for himself and it seemed he considered it his best option up till now.

“Computer, contact _Nezvhan Rhaa_ Khyrzan.”

“Connecting. Please standby.”

The projected screen in front of him began to display a set of indicators regarding the status of his request as an overlay on top of the Imperial Guard seal. What was brought down to a simple face-to-face conversation was a complex set of different technologies working together to keep latencies of subspace communication at real-time levels. On top of that, connections were usually established very fast. Stability over long distances continued to improve, all thanks to a network maintained and shared by some of the major powers of the quadrant. This call was no exception.

“Connection ready.”

“On screen.”

Khyrzan sat on a seating pillow behind a desk of his own. It was as if his face had frozen, conserving the same state from the last time they had contact. A look of seriousness enhanced by eyes in a color between blue and green. The voice, heavy-weighted as common for his hulking race matched the expression, straight to the point.

“Raeth, making any progress?”

“I have reason to believe we are about to, sir,” Raeth said with his most honest tone of voice. “Allow me to explain.”

With a nod of approval from his superior he began to explain the current situation in an objective manner, leaving his own emotions and those of his crew out of the picture. He began with the feigned attack by the Akrennians the moment they entered the system. He ended with the invitation of captain Benjamin and his acceptance. Khyrzan listened without interrupting until he finished, dropping a pause first before responding.

“So, you think the humans know more about the cause of the disappearances?” he asked, lowering an ear.

Raeth nodded.

“The humans are here for the same reasons as we are. They’re investigating. Making appeals to lift the access restrictions to Bynali so we can find out what happened to the missing ships and their crews.”

Khyrzan’s response was a grunt of approval.

“All right, Raeth. You have permission to proceed at your own discretion. It sounds to me that working together with the humans is your best option. You hereby represent the Empire’s interests. Be our voice and make it sound powerful.”

“You can count on us, sir.”

“ _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar._ Oh, and Raeth? You handled those Akrennians well the first time. Keep ‘em in check and find out if they know more than they’ve been willing to let go so far.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Khyrzan out.”

Raeth didn’t need time to think about what to do next. It was one of those situations in which he kind of already knew the answers to his questions. He now had the confirmation that he handled the situation the right way. The moment he got up his wristcom chimed and vibrated. It was Jirro.

“ _Ginjha_ , we’re approaching Bynali Four.”

“Coming.”


	5. Dusk Hour

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 5 Dusk Hour

“All right, what do we have?” Raeth inquired, slowing down his pace as he reached the command deck.

He hadn’t heard any more shouting so he assumed his crew had followed the order to restrain themselves, particularly Jirro. Shifting from the center seat back to his own on his _Ginjha’s_ approach, he was the one to respond. His voice still had a bit of a rough edge but he was calm, or at least he tried his best to keep his residual anger in check.

“We have arrived at the coordinates designated by the humans. And it looks like they already dug their claws into the ground.”

As he sat down Raeth absorbed everything he saw in front of him and combined it with the statement of his _Kaedar_. The panoramic viewport was for the most part taken by the spherical face of Bynali Four. By far the most interesting of the system’s planets for it was a habitable world, with a mild climate, large green landmasses that dominated most of the surface and plenty of surface water. These properties were the exact reasons why this world was so in demand, next to the large pockets of natural resources.

The main viewer was zoomed in on the space station in low orbit of the planet. Its design was human in origin, a ring-like structure around a cylindrical central core. It was much smaller than some other examples Raeth had seen. Judging by the large number of sensor arrays that seemed to grow out of the outer hull, this was a research outpost, designed to monitor the planet and any activity around it.

“Humans don’t have claws, Jirro. But I get it. Our Akrennian friend was right about that. The _Nezvhan Rhaa_ has given us permission to act as we see fit and represent the Empire. That means we’ve got a job to do.”

“They’re hailing us again,” Jetreycka said, suppressing her console’s chime.

“Put ‘em through.”

Captain Benjamin smiled, less restrained and this time he sat in the command chair. Flanking him was his second-in-command, a woman with white skin smooth as silk, dark and very straight ear-length hair in an asymmetric cut. Her facial features were well-defined, a small round nose, tapering chin and thin eyebrows. The touch of red added to her lips and the mild shading around her eyes reminded Raeth of the way human women liked to enhance certain features to make themselves look more attractive.

From his youth on Solbrecht, he recalled that the correct term for these pigments was called ‘makeup’. It could not be compared to the body paint used in his species’ tribal cultures or applied during festivities in modern society. Its meaning was different. Even on Solbrecht where humans and Mantrins lived together with the native Solbrechtians and various other ethnic minorities, using pigments to enhance one’s beauty was unheard of among females of his own species. In fact, if he had to name an origin for the custom it would be human culture.

“Captain. Glad you could make it.”

“Call me Raeth.”

“All right Raeth. Although my name’s Theodore, people usually call me Ben.”

Raeth nodded.

“So, what’s the idea? I’ve spoken to my superiors and you can consider us representatives for whatever we have to discuss. But if I understood you correctly, we haven’t got time to waste.”

Captain Ben sighed.

“Okay, I’ll make this quick. I’ve already talked to the Akrennians and erased all doubt about our intentions. We’re not here to lay claim to Bynali. This research outpost was abandoned some time ago after the ownership debate started. Because of the recent events that took place, we’ve fired her up again and are using it to monitor the planet. There’s something down there that might be linked to the vanished ships. Dock your ship with mine. We’ll share any information we’ve got and then we’ll decide the best course of action.”

“Understood. Freya, get us attached.”

“Aye, _Ginjha_.”

The _Devonshire_ had come to a full stop near the research outpost. This demonstrated the ship’s impressive dimensions to full effect. The Akrennian warship already secured itself at her port side. Freya began maneuvering the _Myr’loa_ to one of the starboard docking ports, its position relayed to pilot and navigator by the Earth vessel’s crew. Captain Ben didn’t lie when he spoke about others visiting the system though, or so Jetreycka noticed.

“I’ve picked up two more ships on sensors. Both holding position at some distance from the outpost. One of them is Vusstran and looks like a cargo ship. The other’s Indarian.”

After hearing her comment, Raeth looked at Ben for an explanation but he seemed aware of the situation and his response was immediate.

“As I said, they’re here for the same reasons as you are. Meet me aboard my ship. We’re waiting for you. _Devonshire_ out.”

The transmission ended and for a couple of ticks Raeth thought about what they knew so far. It frustrated him that it was little. Although Jetreycka had kept a close eye on sensors all the time there hadn’t been a trace left of the missing ships and their crews. On top of that, the humans hadn’t let go much either except that the planet, or anything down on the surface might have something to do with it. As he was about to get up Jetreycka informed him again about a reading on her sensors.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure, sir,” she said, a frown appearing on her forehead in addition to her lowered right ear as she worked the controls. “I’m getting an unusual reading from the planet surface. First, I thought it was just a fluke. Atmospheric disturbance is throwing off the readings but there are increased concentrations of exotic matter. Neutrinos, tachyons and their respective antiparticles.”

“And what does this mean?”

The moment of silence that followed, because Jetreycka hesitated in her response, was interrupted by Syrran. The large Goureg rotated on his seat enough to look at his _Ginjha_ with one eye.

“Sir, aren’t those readings usually associated with… Netherspace?”

Syrran’s reserved explanation went hand-in-hand with another moment of silence in which all heads turned toward him. He didn’t seem moved by this though, more than sure of himself not to break eye contact.

Jetreycka broke through the silence at the same time Raeth was about to respond.

“I can’t rule out the possibility.”

It was science that had deemed this dimension of chaos as more than a theory, but the evidence was scarce. The thought of it usually instilled unnecessary fear into those dealing with a possible occurrence of ruptures that lead to this universe. He had to admit to himself it made him feel uneasy as well, but they needed hard proof first.

“Let’s not make any assumptions based on speculation. We’re going to meet with the humans first and see what they’ve managed to find out so far. Jirro, Trezka, Jetreycka, you’re with me. Put me on ship-wide first.”

“You’re on, sir.”

“Raeth to bridge crew. Early shift change. I need _four_ people up here. Take your pick.”

***

A well-equipped medical bay was standard on all Imperial Guard vessels but adapted in size to the _Myr’loa_ ’s modest crew complement. There were only two beds, with limited stasis capabilities and surgical assistance. Together with all the other equipment and resources onboard, a physician would be able to perform all but the most complex of treatments. The beds were located on the right from the entrance point of view while on the left, separated by a transparent barrier, was a small medical lab.

With no patients to treat, Salu had installed himself on a seat behind a specialized workstation. His eyes traced sets of graphs and values on the monitors of the molecular synthesizer as it prepared a batch of small-dose immuno-boosters. These were vital for exploration of other planets but also for venturing into alien environments in general. They improved the immune system’s natural ability to fight and adapt to bacteria and viruses during a period determined by the dose. It was effective in giving foreign microorganisms a far lesser chance to do any harm.

As the ship’s doctor he had several critical tasks. It was up to him to keep an eye on the crew’s health and perform treatments for any ailments that might arise. Next to that he devoted time to medical research. Outer space and especially prolonged exposure to it had an infinite number of effects on the body and all those who shared his profession had an equal number of projects to choose from. To keep up with this infinite pile of work, he had an assistant to support him.

“Here’s that case you requested, doctor.”

“ _Hyami_ , Moa. Boosters are almost ready.”

The small metal carrying case had soft padding on the inside and enough space to fit eight of the boosters as became evident as she opened it. Moa’s race was Fjetanha, very pure-blooded too. After reading her file, Salu knew there was little chance she would ever bond with anyone not from her race. Being the average Sogowan himself he didn’t even have to hope for it. Not that he had the time to fraternize but if he were honest to himself and had to pick one word to describe her, it would be “stunning”.

The tan brown color of her smooth skin. Long straight hair, chestnut brown and divided in two tails running down her back. Pointy ears with little tufts of fur at the tip. Striking eyes in dull olive. And of course, there were the other traits that made her race so unique. These included the plumed tail tip and her black muzzle with the darker shading, also present around her eyes, ears, hands and feet.

The ready signal from the molecular synthesizer came right on time for her not to notice he was staring. The transparent chamber door opened itself, the filled canisters held by clamps on extending arms reaching out to him.

“Raeth to sickbay. Is it ready, doctor?”

“Yes _Ginjha_ , just a preventive measure,” Salu replied, pulling the canisters out of their holding clamps and sealing them by sliding them into dermal injectors.

“I’m sending Moa down to meet you on the way.”

“That’s all I need to know doctor. Raeth out.”

Putting the last of the injectors in the padded case, he sealed it, after which Moa picked it up and flung its strap over her shoulder.

“Be back in a tick,” she said, before disappearing through the automatic doors.

***

Having made their way down to the portside airlock on deck three, Raeth and his accompanying officers awaited Moa’s arrival. In the meantime, they went through a short verbal briefing. The airlock door was a large round airtight chunk of metal, a pretty standard feature on all starships. The space in front of it was equipped with several hidden security features. Advanced scanners, forcefield generators and even a pulse gun, deployable from the ceiling. All these measures were to keep uninvited guests out and prevent anyone from smuggling in unauthorized items. Next to all the high-tech stuff, the bulkheads had integrated storage compartments for things not considered necessary for the trip to the other side. In this case, Raeth considered the standard issue sidearm they all carried in the holster on their sides to be one of those.

“We’re gonna make this quick, because I feel just like captain Ben that we’re losing valuable time. Leave your weapons. We won’t need ‘em.”

Removing his pulse blaster, he dropped it in the compartment he had opened. Trezka and Jetreycka did the same. Only Jirro acted like he hadn’t heard a thing, his eyes fixed on the airlock door. It was only when Raeth raised his voice that he responded in an obstinate tone of voice.

_You just have to be like that eh?_

“Sir, we’re meeting with Akrennians.”

Raeth perceived a sense of hatred in Jirro and an uneasy wariness in himself. Those were the reasons why they were not going to bring weapons into their next encounter.

“The exact reason why we will leave our guns out of it. Now leave your _weapon_.”

“Is that an order, sir?”

“Does it _sound_ like anything else, _Kaedar_?”

For a moment the sparks flew off as they locked eyes. After a few ticks of trying to prove he was as unbreakable as he was, Jirro gave in. Stepping forward with a grunt he removed his weapon and dropped it into the compartment with a loud bang. As Raeth closed it with a touch to the front, they didn’t have time to exchange more words as Moa announced herself. The sound of her hoof-like feet reverberated between the bulkheads as she approached the group. The Fjetanha girl was a great deal smaller compared to either of them, yet stepped toward her superiors without hesitation and opened her case.

“As requested, sir.”

“ _Hyami_ , Moa.”

“It’s only a small dosage.”

Grabbing a dermal injector each they followed her instructions. They all had experience with the procedure from the countless occasions they had set foot in alien environments. Applying the head of the device to the soft skin that covered his neck, Raeth only felt the familiar tingling sensation as the injector delivered its contents without puncturing the skin. Afterwards Moa collected all injectors back into her case. Closing it and readjusting the strap on her shoulder, she wished them their equivalent of good luck. Dismissing her with a nod of approval Raeth immediately walked toward the airlock door and touched the right control panel to open it.

“I’m sure there’s no need to quote protocol regarding the contact with other species,” Raeth said. The warning tone he used was a deliberate. “The Akrennians are a specialty though. You are aware of how provocative they can be. Don’t let them trick you into doing something stupid. _“That means you, Jirro_ , _”_ he thought, restraining himself from saying it.

All three of his officers acknowledged in their own way, including Jirro. Now he hoped he would stay true to his word. Akrennians had a way of making one’s blood boil and it was difficult to stay calm in those situations.

Stepping into the airtight conduit between both ships, the sharp drop in temperature sent a chill down his spine. This tube-like construction that allowed for the safe coupling of two ships of different origin involved a remarkable amount of technology. Advanced interfaces to allow airlock systems to communicate with each other. Three-dimensional scanners to determine the largest possible diameter depending on the size of the smaller of the two participants. There were also the molecular nano seals that created the actual coupling and allowed for a safe atmosphere to exist between two docked ships.

“UT’s working everyone?” he said, tapping his wristcom to check the status of his own.

The temporary implant embedded near his ear canal chimed in response to his checking. All three responses were positive so without delay he walked toward the _Devonshire_ ’s airlock door that opened on their approach.

The area behind it was comparable to the one aboard their own ship and he assumed equipped with the same level of security measures. Captain Benjamin awaited their arrival with visible anticipation. His first officer and two members of security accompanied him. Now that they met in person, the striking physical difference between their two species became even more evident. He was by no means a small man, but his head and the heads of his officers tilted backwards to a noticeable degree while keeping eye contact.

Raeth and his officers assumed a position at a distance that was neither threatening nor reserved, answering their salute with one of their own. Despite their smaller proportions, human starships were usually designed to accommodate visitors and even crewmembers from other races. Therefore, it was possible to have Jirro and Trezka stand behind him at his sides and Jetreycka behind Jirro on his right. The tips of their ears still had some room left between them and the ceiling, enough not to make contact when walking.

Raeth smiled, a mere upward curve of the right corner of his beak but it was enough to trigger a similar response from the human man that equaled him in rank. What Raeth did next surprised him though, stretching his arm forward according to a custom that was not shared by Mantrins. Spending his youth in a cultural melting pot taught him more than enough about the customs of different races. This one was hard to forget.

“I believe this is your custom?”

Although there was some hesitation, captain Benjamin prevented it from getting awkward in time by shaking his hand. He laughed in a genuine openhearted manner.

“It is, though a little unexpected.”

“I grew up on Solbrecht. Picked up a lot of your habits and customs back then.”

“That explains it.”

The man’s hand felt warm and small in his own. The difference in size was too great for a comfortable handshake but he was used to that.

“My first officer Jirro, head of security Trezka and my chief science officer Jetreycka.”

Ben nodded in response gesturing toward his own first officer.

“My own XO, commander Lukyanenko.”

“Aleksandra, although people usually call me Lukya.”

Her smile alleviated the somewhat stern look on her face as she shook Raeth’s hand as well. Her accent was very different from Ben’s, but the tone of her voice matched her smile. Failing to contain his curiosity, Raeth suppressed a chuckle but still had to ask.

“I mean no disrespect, but are all your first names so difficult to remember that you use an abbreviation of your family name instead?”

This time Ben laughed out loud and even his second-in-command couldn’t stop her smile from showing a few pearly whites.

“You may be right, but that’s not the issue you’ve come to discuss. Follow me please. I keep saying it, but time is of the essence.”

During their walk through the Earth vessel, Raeth and his officers were fascinated by the ship’s many different scientific and technological facilities as well as its mixed crew. The majority of the crewmembers that passed by were humans. It also became apparent that a variety of different species had tried to see if the Earth Alliance uniform would fit them and with success. Raeth and his crew became a sight to behold as well. Receiving the commanding officers of an Imperial Guard warship wasn’t an everyday happening yet the level of respect they received surprised him.

Ben hadn’t told them in advance where he and his humble security detachment led them. Certain signs, the occasional status display and the large elevator they used to travel a couple of decks up gave this away. It was somewhere in the tall command tower which divided the _Devonshire_ into two massive halves.

When the elevator doors split apart after reaching the right deck, they revealed a broad corridor and, separated by a windowed bulkhead, they looked at a conference room of considerable size. The current occupants included the Akrennian delegation, led by their fearless captain, and a few _Devonshire_ crewmembers. Some of the latter were security but two were of the science department or so Raeth guessed.

Ayko’s sharp senses picked up their arrival immediately, her head snapping in their direction. Jirro snorted derisively during the moment of eye contact but seemed to keep his cool. Without hesitation Ben and Aleksandra walked through the automatic doors that were the room’s only point of entrance, followed by their guests. Leading the pack, Raeth was the first to assess the situation.

The room was very open, well-lit and equipped in a very spartan fashion. The large viewport stretched across the full length of the room. For the moment it offered a breathtaking view of Bynali Four, its surface and atmospheric formations a dazzling palette of earth-tone colors. Taking up the space in the center was a large wooden conference table. The oval design almost seemed to hover on two slim legs. The ceiling above the table was fitted with projection equipment, currently in standby mode. A three-dimensional representation of the Earth Colonial Alliance seal floated at eye level above the table surface. Surrounding the table were several comfortable seats, none of them occupied. All attendants were on their feet. The tension in the air most likely contributed to this fact, caused by the meeting of two more or less rival species.

The additional security officers remained outside the room. Ben and his first officer walked around the table first to talk to their own people who were preparing a briefing for the upcoming operation.

“Just a moment, we’ll begin shortly.”

Ayko, the commanding officer of the Akrennian vessel that had been their worthy opponent mere moments ago took this as her cue. Her first officer was a male with army-green skin, lacking his species´ natural lankiness. Trained muscles enhanced his impressive size. The smaller sand brown female looked out of place with her humble physique. She struck Raeth as timid, less warlike than her companions and stayed behind when the other two maneuvered around the table to meet them in a truce. Despite the room’s generous size, Jetreycka and Trezka had to spread out to stand without touching each other.

Raeth and Jirro met Ayko’s bold move in the ample space between the table and left wall. Ayko’s long ears had lowered from their upright positions, her vivid orange eyes narrowed as she met Raeth’s stare about an arm’s length from his chest. Before he realized it, he snorted instinctively at the pungent odor of bodily secretions. Raeth figured it was sweat for the most part, yet hers was overpowered by those of her larger male subordinate. It was all rather overwhelming after the _Devonshire_ ’s relative sterileness and would’ve been less noticeable on a crowded spaceport.

“It wouldn’t be the first time that they’d force us to work together,” she mocked, nodding toward Ben. “But since you suggested it first, I decided to take you up on that offer.”

Ignoring the rush of fetid breath that seemed to force its way into his nostrils, Raeth responded with a mere nod at first.

“It’d be more fruitful.”

An expression of agreement struck the sharp features of her face. A grin revealed her pointy rear fangs near the right corner of her mouth. It disappeared in a flash when Jirro snorted a bit too loud and rude for her taste. Her large leather boots hit the deck with a thud. She faced Jirro the same way but with all pretense at friendliness abandoned, if there was any to begin with.

“You don’t like me very much, do you?” she said in a defiant manner.

Jirro’s had his signature emerald glare ready. Staring down over crossed arms, his deep rumbling voice caused a tickling sensation in Raeth’s stomach.

“Trust me, I’ve tried. With several of you but there are things you just can’t get used to. It’s… the smell.”

Ayko scoffed, letting the insult ricochet off her trained exterior without so much as flinching.

“You think very highly of yourself, do you? Oddly enough you don’t strike me as very intelligent.”

That Jirro still had himself under control surprised Raeth. It was as if Ayko sensed it and took pleasure in trying to figure out how far she could go. She waited for him to bite, which was what he would do if pushed. They had already witnessed it in full glory.

“Jir’, don’t,” Raeth grunted from the corner of his mouth.

“Really? Then this might come as surprising. I’ve got two words for you in a combination you’ve never heard before in your life: Oral hygiene.”

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Raised, Captain Ben’s warm tone of voice reached a new level of authority. It was even enough for Ayko and Jirro to break their antagonizing stare and divert their attention to the man. “If you’d be so courteous to cease the hostilities while being aboard my ship and preferably afterwards as well, I would like your attention please. Miss Rodriguez?”

“Yes sir.”

A light tap on the holo-pad in the woman’s left hand brought illumination levels in the room down for comfortable viewing. The projection system sprang to life with a detailed three-dimensional representation of Bynali Four. Different colors highlighted points of interest on the surface. Rodriguez used swift finger movements to zoom in on the one spot that was of actual interest, an area of roughly two square kilometers.

As the view tilted into a tactical map parallel to the table surface, objects became visible. Tooltips in different colors showed up near them. In response, Raeth and his crew, as well as Ayko and her officers divided themselves over the ample space around the table. The chairs remained unused. Raeth noticed how Ayko’s eyes narrowed to slits as she crossed her long arms over her chest and flicked the left one of her long ears. It could be that they were looking at the same, but he had recognized at least one of the highlighted objects as a large piece of debris.

“Could that be a piece of one of the missing ships?” Raeth asked.

The brown eyes of Rodriguez twinkled as she met Raeth’s questioning look, but her answer was objective and concise.

“We’ve managed to positively identify some of these pieces as debris though we were unable to determine their origin. It could be from the missing ships, but it could also be remnants of something that has been lying there for a long time. Atmospheric disturbances are disrupting our sensor scans, so we must get down there to get confirmation. We even managed to identify objects that have a high certainty of being escape pods. That´s not all. Tyrnan?”

She stepped aside to make room for her fellow officer and scientist. A large male Qu’utian took her place. They were an unusual sight, anywhere but on their home planet or aboard one of the few starships that made up their fleet. Qu’utians were a shy, pacifist species that took the form of large bipedal salamanders. His back followed a smooth ninety-degree curve from head to the tip of his long tail. His scaled orange skin as well as the symbiotic blue green moss that covered various spots on his body, primarily the shoulders and top of the head, looked moist in the light of the projection.

He wore an adapted version of the blue Earth Alliance uniform, more like an environmental suit that kept both skin and moss under optimal conditions. A miniature fluid recycling system was built into a kind of flat backpack with dispensers integrated into the suit. He continued the explanation of his human colleague with little interruption but for a slight pause and a few taps on his own holo-pad. This brought up more highlighted spots on the three-dimensional map. Their labels were bright green in color as opposed to the blue of the debris pieces.

“We also detected unusual energy signatures near the debris site. This particular location is of most interest because it has the highest concentration of them. There are also trace amounts of organic matter large enough to be bodies or at least parts thereof.”

As he spoke with a deep tenor voice on a very calm tone, he showed little emotion. The universal translator caught on to his language and dialect yet failed to capture some of the subtleties which could’ve betrayed a sense of compassion for the possibility that members of the missing crews might still be down there. Everyone else was immediately interested in that last aspect.

“So, what’s the plan?” Ayko asked, her arms still crossed. “‘Cause I think we’re gonna have to get down there.”

“We’re already one step ahead of you,” Captain Ben replied. “No offense of course. We’re preparing a shuttle for a landing near this exact site. Those escape pods might--”

“Bridge to Captain Benjamin.”

The interruption was sudden. The urgency in the female voice was enough to override any non-disturbance protocols that Ben might have installed during this meeting. The room fell silent, except for the Earth vessel’s commanding officer who continued to look at the holoprojection as he perked his ears. It was as if he knew that the reason for the interruption would have something to do with the crash site.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Sir, distress call coming from the planet surface. Audio only and it’s pretty garbled.”

“Route it to conference room one.”

The transmission was as described, audible words interlaced with lots of static. The few things that did manage to get through were enough to convince everyone that they had found what they were looking for. A survivor, at least from one of the missing ships.

“This is specialist _… Hanii Nyra_. …been attacked …had to launch escape pods. To anyone in range…”

“That was all sir. Nothing else came through.”

“Location?”

“Site A. Should appear on the map now.”

A pulsating orange dot appeared on the holographic map. It was close to one of the larger pieces of debris, right on top of one of the smaller objects surrounding it. Ben´s eyes found Raeth´s who confirmed his unspoken question.

“That’s one of ours. Specifically the one we´re looking for.”

“Then we’ve got no more time to waste.”

***

“Raeth to bridge.”

Although he had expected to gain something out of this meeting, the prospect of finding at least one surviving crewmember and maybe even more down there filled Raeth with a feeling of positive tension. Flexing his strong muscles, he prepared mentally by planning as far as possible.

As it turned out, his crew had been doing the same. They acted like extensions of his own body and mind, analyzing the current situation and making appropriate decisions. Escorted by two of the _Devonshire_ ’s security officers, who had to jog to keep up with their fast striding thread, they had to be careful not to knock the ship’s crewmembers out of the way simply by passing. Their physical size did wonders to clear the way ahead.

“Le’tan here. Go ahead, _Ginjha_.”

“Prepare a shuttle. It’s time to get down there and quick.”

“We expected as much. We had a shuttle prepared, almost ready for launch.”

“Excellent. Sent Freya down to the shuttle deck. You can keep the bridge for the moment. Raeth out.”

With nothing but a few corners and corridors ahead of them until the airlock he tapped his wristcom once more. It was time for the manned aspect of the operation. Bynali Four was an alien environment with its own pathogens and environmental hazards. Without sufficient protection they could be dead within cycles or even millicycles upon arrival. Therefore, every ship capable of supporting manned missions to unknown environments was equipped with environmental gear and the ability to synthesize immuno-boosters.

“Raeth to Salu.”

“Yes, _Ginjha_.”

“We need a full dose this time. We’re heading for the shuttle deck right away.”

“I had a batch prepared. Should be enough for at least another thirty cycles on top of your earlier dosage. Moa will know how to find you.”

“That’s all I needed to know.”


	6. The Darkest Night

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 6 The Darkest Night

The shuttle deck was one of the few areas of the ship Raeth had visited only once since he knew she would be his to command. The two sleek craft capable of atmospheric flight stood side by side on their landing gear. Their hulls were without so much as a scratch on the fresh coat of paint.

The seal of the Imperial Guard adorned the side. Painted in color, it pictured the silhouette of a warrior wearing a battle helmet on a dark blue background, looking up at what symbolized the sky at night. Near the top left were three four-pointed stars of different size, and two moons, representing those of Sogowa Prime. To the right of these was the silhouette of a starship flying by. A red circle bordered this scene, the symbols that made up the _Saerinian_ language forming the words ‘serve’, ‘fight’ and ‘protect’ following its curve, leaving equal space between each word. Shuttle one, the craft closest to him as he approached the rear was being prepared for launch as ordered.

“All good, sir. Ready for launch.”

Raeth responded with a quick nod as Itan, the large Goureg engineer, who had some experience with maintaining small craft gave a few quick taps on a holo-pad as he completed his walk around the machine.

“Sure we don’t need to go EV?”

“No sir,” Jetreycka answered.

This would shave a couple of minutes off their prep work so they could get underway without further delays. The room adjacent to the shuttle bay was especially dedicated for EV activities. As their species was so diverse, with its vast differences in bodily proportions between races and even individuals themselves, an environmental suit was a costly and customized piece of equipment. To save valuable time, every ship was equipped with at least two automated dressing rooms, storing two sets of EV suits for each crewmember. A series of manipulator arms were capable of applying each piece in little time with the wearer in the right position. It was a convenient system, saving everyone the struggle of putting on a space suit.

“Bynali Four is very well capable of supporting life. The extra injection should provide sufficient protection.”

Heading over to the nearest equipment locker, she retrieved a trio of scanners. At the same time, Trezka opened the arms locker and grabbed a pair of pulse rifles. Although they had retrieved their blasters on the way back, she longed for more firepower, tossing her _Ginjha_ a bit of a cheeky grin.

“Could come in handy.” Making eye-contact with Jirro she threw him the second rifle. Without moving from his spot, he caught it, despite the weapon’s considerable weight. “You do know how to use that, do you?”

“More than you know,” Jirro muttered, a hint of agitation coating his voice. Activating the gun, he checked the battery level and aimed through the scope.

Right at that moment Moa arrived, making them repeat the earlier procedure of enhancing their immune systems.

“Doc confirms that you should be okay,” she said, throwing back a loose strand of hair. “Let us know in case things do get iffy.”

“We will,” Raeth promised. ”Let’s go!”

Moving as a group, they walked to the shuttle’s open tailgate. The heavy thumps of their footsteps echoed through the bay, the sound changing as they stepped on the platform. What he noticed immediately was that the craft still had that fresh out of the yard ‘new’ smell. Next to the pilot and co-pilot’s seats in the front, two more rows of seats were placed behind them, still leaving plenty of cargo space in the rear. In case of emergencies, extra straps lining the left and right walls would allow more passengers to secure themselves for a short trip. With Le’tan as the ship’s second pilot on bridge duty, Freya had installed herself behind the controls. As the group entered, she had finished the preflight checks.

“Ready to fly, sir,” she said as her _Ginjha_ took the co-pilot’s seat, while the rest of the group divided themselves over the spare ones behind them.

The left corner of his beak curved upwards as he detected the eagerness in the smaller Mantrin’s voice.

“Do your thing.”

She nodded, closing the rear hatch first.

“Opening bay doors.”

As the large armored doors opened in a slow but fluid motion, a pass-through forcefield kept the deck pressurized, preventing the air from escaping in a violent storm. As warm yellow light of the Bynali star entered the bay, the windshield compensated for the increased brightness. A windowed view of space around the planet presented itself. The shuttle’s engines came to life with a soft whine and a mild vibration. The landing gear retracted with a perceptible bump as the thrusters heaved the craft off the platform.

With a swift motion Freya maneuvered the ship out into the vacuum of space. Setting a direct course for the coordinates down on the planet’s surface, she pushed the control stick down in a steep descent. As they approached the upper atmosphere, Baika’s voice sounded over the comm scrambled by some mild static.

“ _Myr’loa_ to shuttlecraft one. We’ll try to stay in contact with you. It seems calm now, but those electrical storms might cause some trouble along the way. If you have collected data that needs immediate analysis, I can start working on that from up here.”

“ _Hyami_ , Baika,” Jetreycka answered from the seat behind her commanding officer.

“The Earth ship has launched two shuttles. The Akrennians are also on their way. They’re heading to different locations. Only one of the human shuttles is following you.”

With Freya reducing speed to limit frictional heating of the outer hull during entry, Raeth caught a glimpse of the Earth shuttle through the windshield on the right. Its pilot carried out the same maneuvers at an appropriate safe distance. This was expected, as their target coordinates were the same.

Still declining at a steep angle, the face of the planet began to grow in detail. It was dominated by large forested landmasses and smaller but numerous bodies of surface water like splotches of green and blue paint. The sun was setting on this part of the planet. The remaining natural light was enough to differentiate between the trees and the large artificial object that had plowed right through them on its ungraceful way down to the surface. It didn’t seem like it happened too recently, for the scanners detected only residual heat- and energy signatures. Some time had passed since the ship was concluded missing and they received the order to look for survivors. The ship’s helm officer seemed to have at least tried to find some open space to land. The size of the wreckage and the density of the forest had made that very difficult, if not impossible.

Freya had already picked a spot and was ready to touch down on the surface as she deployed the landing gear. The landing was as subtle as it could be, the ground covered by what seemed like a type of grass cushioning the gentle impact of the shuttle’s considerable mass.

“Wouldn’t mind flying with you again,” Raeth said, his praise provoking a smile from the young pilot. “Raeth to _Myr’loa_ , we made it down. Can you still hear us?”

Although there was some mild static, Le’tan’s voice was clear.

“Fairly loud and clear, sir. We’ve got your position and are standing by.”

Occupying the rear-most seat, Jirro was the first to get up. He crossed the distance to the tailgate’s secondary controls with a pair of swift steps, giving them a good hit. A loud hiss and a gust of wind blew over them as the shuttle’s pressured cabin expelled part of its contents like a breath of air. Immediately, the scent of an alien world entered Raeth’s nostrils. As they were in the middle of a forest, some odors recalled memories of home while others tickled his curiosity. The outside temperature was pleasant, close to an early summer evening as the sun was close to the horizon. With a light grunt, Jirro pushed out of the shuttle with bold determination, eyes scanning the nearby tree-line. He held his rifle in a firm grip, but not trained at anything. With Trezka following his example as she carried the second pulse rifle, the group spread themselves out.

The light of the setting sun cast long shadows from the surrounding trees over the clearing. Most of it was blocked by the enormous metal husk of the crashed starship to the left of their current position, the surface of the hull scarred by the heat of an uncontrolled atmospheric entry. One thing Raeth knew for certain. Although the wreckage was humongous, partially buried underground and having thrown up large amounts of dirt, with bits and pieces lying everywhere, this was still far from a complete ship. Cruisers of this type were 800 steps long behemoths. He estimated that this section, although towering about 20 steps above them, was less than one-fourth of that.

“Bridge seems more or less intact but we’re missing quite a bit of her,” Jetreycka confirmed his thoughts. Directing her scanner at the wreckage, she began collecting data. “Whole aft section is gone as well as a large portion of the starboard hull.”

While Freya locked down the shuttle the Earth transport arrived, a bit later than expected. The drone of its engines reverberated in his stomach area as it landed in a smooth fashion, throwing gusts of wind in their direction as the thrusters slowed the impact. Not immediately recognizing the model, Raeth figured the Earth forces had been upgrading their fleet material as well. Shortly thereafter a team of four exited the craft, three men, one woman or so he figured. The leader of the group signaled in their direction as they locked up their ship.

“Hi there!”

The two teams approached each other in the space between the shuttles. Raeth ordered them to keep their weapons pointed down but Trezka followed his order with reluctance. Snorting in response, she shifted a bit on her clawed feet, turning up bits of dirt, her tail moving with quick flicks.

“What’s up?”

“I’m nervous,” she whispered from the corner of her mouth. “There’s something about this place.”

Flexing her muscular shoulders, she held on to her weapon with one hand as she lowered it. Suppressing any feelings of anxiety as he didn’t want to put the humans on edge, Raeth tried to keep the expression on his face neutral. They didn’t seem intimidated in the least though.

Dressed in outer gear, in the same style and colors as the duty uniform, the Alliance away team was equipped with small arms and handheld scanners but didn’t bring any heavy firepower. The top part of their outfit did consist of a piece of light body armor. The leader of the group, a male with a clean-shaven face, short dark hair in a buzz cut tried to smile away any tension that might have built up between them.

“Lieutenant Omar Reynolds. Nice to meet ya. Our captain thought you might want some assistance. We made a single pass over the area and there are a couple of weak life signs past the tree line, but they could be animals as well.”

“Raeth, House of Meztar. It’s appreciated.”

“The other shuttles went to different crash sites. They might turn up something there.”

Raeth hummed in response. The Akrennians were also looking for one of their ships. With multiple locations were debris had come down, it wasn’t a bad decision to divide manpower and split up. They had to be quick too as he noticed it had become darker in the few millicycles they had been standing there.

“Spread out and keep your eyes peeled.”

“D’you wish to go and see if we can get inside?” the man asked, nodding toward the wrecked cruiser’s hull. “There’s no easy way in though.”

“I bet I can blast us in,” Trezka said, with a look of mischief in her eyes as she tapped her weapon.

“No blasting,” Raeth ordered. “Let’s run a few more scans first. Besides, the distress call did not originate from the main wreckage. There are escape pods in the surrounding area. Let’s find out of anyone’s alive.”

With some disappointment showing on her face but honoring her _Ginjha_ ’s request she paired with Freya and began the search, crossing the distance to the edge of the forest as they had locked on to the position of an escape pod. Jetreycka offered to help Lieutenant Reynolds and his team. Her argument was that it would be handy to have someone to speak the language in case they ran into any survivors without a working universal translator. And so Raeth paired with his _Kaedar_ who grunted in affirmation as he readied his rifle. Directing his scans toward the depths of the forest, three more signatures lit up on the display, identified as escape pods. Crossing the distance to the tree line with their fast long-legged stride, they went in a direction not taken by the others.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Jirro grunted.

Stepping forward and activating the flashlight attached to the rifle’s muzzle he drove away the darkness between the trees in their direct vicinity. Leaves rustled as they were ripped off and branches snapped as he plowed through what little vegetation tried to stand in his way. Raeth followed first, then joined his side when the available space allowed it, his eyes beginning to discern more and more detail in the relative darkness that seemed to grab them as they moved away from the clearing. The first escape pod wasn’t far away. It could finally shed some light on what happened here.

“I’m counting on it.”

***

Although he was currently put in command by his _Ginjha_ , Le’tan had refrained from taking the center seat. As he knew, this did not fire him from his responsibilities. With everyone on standby and him relieving Freya, he had decided to get more familiar with the ship’s helm controls. He figured running piloting simulations to pass the time was a good alternative to sit and wait. As Baika stayed in contact with the away team, Syrran explained the finer points of the navigation controls to Houn. Norgu, the hulking Logri, occupied Trezka’s seat behind tactical and so they had the key positions covered in case a situation arose.

“Le’tan, the surface team is spreading out. Jetreycka reports she’s joined the Alliance team who offered their help.”

He was glad he had the opportunity to get to know Baika a little better earlier in the mess hall. What also sparked a moment of joy was that she had followed his humble request to use his name instead of rank even while on duty. This was more common for their kind as whole, even in the military. The hierarchy of the command structure was clear to everyone and if it was for whatever reason necessary to pull rank, someone was at fault. Placing his feet on the deck to create grip, he lifted the console, pushed himself backwards and swiveled around enough to look her in the eyes.

“ _Hyami,_ Baika. Anything unusual on our own scanners so far?”

She shook her head and tapped the lit panels in front of her a few more times, then frowned, her right ear lowering to a horizontal position.

“Not really. I keep getting these ghost-like readings though. Every time I try to look into it, they’re gone again. Might have something to do with--”

Shortly after her voice trailed off, eyes narrowing as she bowed closer to her display, a tangible vibration moved through the ship. It felt a bit like a weak quake and the effects were noticeable in more than one way. The lights on the well-lit bridge flickered then dimmed and the consoles lost power for a moment as well, then came back on like nothing happened.

“What was that?” Houn asked, dragging his clawed feet over the deck in a shuffling motion as he moved away from his position behind Syrran’s seat. Had his long tail been swishing a hand’s width above the deck mere moments ago with relaxed movements, it was now wrapped left-ways around his body in a tense curve, the tip reaching past his leg in his contracted stance. He was the only one to ask the question that was on everyone’s mind out loud, but Le’tan was the one to take immediate action.

“Bridge to engineering. You must have noticed that too a few ticks ago. Can anyone look into that?”

The camera feed of the drone that could follow the engineering team around as they worked activated on the right secondary viewer, the one furthest from Le’tan’s seat in the left front. As Jacky worked one of the interfaces attached to the ring around the main reactor pylons, Majih the small Talocaan Mantrin dashed toward the nearest workstation, screeching to a halt with the noise of claws on metal, like a pet on a slippery floor. Le’tan suppressed a chuckle at the sounds of agitation.

“On it! On it!” he muttered between clenched teeth. Plopping down and pulling the console closer, his hands shifted over the controls. “Itan, keep an eye on those graphs.”

The Goureg grunted in affirmation from behind the opposite station. As the situation seemed under control for as far as he could tell, Le’tan used the calming effect of his voice in an attempt to take away his shipmate’s worries. To some effect as Majih took a deep breath in response, exhaling in a somewhat derisive sigh. Bowing closer to the screens in front of him, his ears folded backwards like a predator’s as he interpreted the information and tried to make sense of it.

“It’s as if something sucked up all power from the main reactor for a split tick. Have you detected any more of those neutrino and tachyon emissions mentioned earlier?”

Le’tan’s ears made an unintentional upward jumping motion in response. According to Baika her twin in the science department did mention this earlier but it was hard to verify.

“Norgu, there are currently no ships nearby emitting these types of particles, correct?”

The large black Logri Mantrin’s deep bassy voice held no reluctance or uncertainty.

“No. I haven’t detected any weapons discharges either. All ships have been holding their positions for the past half cycle.”

Crossing his arms for a moment, leaning back on his chair, Letan craned his muscular neck back until his eyes found the ceiling. Pondering his next decision, he turned to face Baika again.

“Baika, contact the station. Maybe their scanners can make sense out of all this.”

***

Her breath came out slow and restrained as her hand touched the cold metal surrounding the door controls of the shared quarters. Masai hesitated. Three times had she changed the way she would tackle the situation in her mind. As she stood in front of the room she shared with Azdar, tracing the lines in the solid metal surface she figured there was no other way to do this. She had done this more than a dozen times before. Azdar fought with the trouble of his abusive past on a regular basis. It was a secret he shared with no one else but her and she had helped him deal with it on many occasions.

Or at least tried. Her own past made her far from the ideal person to do this, but he had taken a liking to her. She felt he did his best to place his trust in her when talking about the inner demons that plagued him from time to time. Realizing this for the umpteenth time she finally let her fingers slide to the buttons and watched the thick metal plate in front of her moving to the left of her field of vision.

The room was somewhat dark, with the lights dimmed to a level below that in the corridor but not completely off. In the far back stood a round wooden table with two seating pillows below a sizable viewport. To the right of the humble seating setup was access to a bathroom large enough to accommodate any member of their species. Mirroring the same amount of space on the left offered space to store personal belongings. Although she and Azdar carried little with them, Nami’s longbow and Houn’s _Joyt_ , a musical instrument shaped much like a circular harp were a few examples of large and valuable personal treasures brought onboard by their fellow crewmembers. Closest to the door were the bunks. These were large almost square beds, a leg flung over the edge of the left one, the foot placed flat on the floor.

The dull reflection of light from the Bynali sun coming through the viewport on the metal of his prosthetic left foot betrayed his presence. With the door closing behind her, he didn’t respond to her entering. As the door slid shut with a hiss and a soft bump, she sat down on her own bed but without turning up the lights. His face illuminated by the display of a mobile device he fiddled with, she watched the dancing color patterns on his face change as he browsed through information on the screen. His eyes flashed in her direction a couple of times but otherwise he ignored her completely.

 _“One of his moods again,”_ she thought, opening her mouth to say something then closing it. She did this two more times before having gathered enough courage to throw a word in his direction.

“Azdar?”

No real response, just a grunt.

“If… If I said something to offend you, I am sorry.”

Another grunt, despite the honesty in her voice. Sometimes even she seemed to anger him somehow, often leaving her clueless about the reason why. Azdar had the tendency to turn any negative emotion into anger so it was hard to gauge him during these times. Fearing that it was her fault, although not intentional, her ears, which she couldn’t keep upright as well as it should be, drooped down even further, until they were below horizontal.

“How can I… make it up to you?”

The tremble in her voice finally shook him up. Switching off the device’s screen, dropping it next to him on the sheet, he finally got up. Sitting upright, he left about a stretched leg of space between them. For what felt like an eternity to her he sat there in quiet, his golden brown eyes of which she was convinced held a sparkle of joy once, a bit hard to see in the dark. Those eyes now did a very bad job at hiding his aggressiveness.

“It’s not your fault,” he muttered, breaking the silence between them apart from their breathing. His voice scratched a little as if something was stuck in his throat. “I lost it again. I-I’m trying so hard.”

For a moment it appeared as if his right cheek looked moist, until she realized that it was. Masai chewed on her bottom lip. Two things could happen right now, one more likely than the other. He would either start shouting or have a miniature breakdown again. She felt her hearts beating faster as she hoped for the first rather than the latter. This was all about him not wanting to be here, wanting things to be different, but coping with the situation nonetheless.

Knowing it could provoke either reaction she got up from her bed and squatted in front of him, his legs far enough apart for her to do this. Breathing through his muzzle, she felt his warm breath, a hint of sweetness on it, against her face. Bringing her arm up, to touch the leathery side of his beak, she felt the dampness on his soft skin. The only sound he made upon her touch was a soft whimper.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, placing her head on his shoulder she held him. Sometimes he resisted when she did this, pushing her away. Like he always seemed to push everyone away but this time he let her, his breath coming in short bursts. With her right shoulder getting warm and moist she rubbed his firm back. When she felt he had enough, a trembling sensation below her feet rippled through the ship. At the same time the lights turned off, then flickered back on again, returning to half brightness instead of the previous level. Releasing her friend, she dried her own eyes with her sleeve as he wiped his with quick strokes from the back of his hand. Now they could see each other better, copying each other’s questioning looks. She was the one to say something as he tried to regain his composure.

“I think we better get up there.”

***

“Again, no survivors. Maybe the other teams had more luck.”

Jetreycka sighed. The Earth Alliance crewmembers assisting her seemed devoted even though they weren’t looking for their own survivors. Their help was much appreciated, but the results were less than satisfying. This was their fourth escape pod, its hull breached and with two dead bodies inside. With the sun almost gone and whatever light it provided blocked by the roof of the forest, it was hard to see in the darkness. When one of the men moved the beam of his flashlight over the open hatch, she gagged in disgust at the unsightly mess inside.

“I though you guys were tougher than that,” the other one of Reynolds’ male companions said in an attempt to be amusing.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jetreycka asked, irritated by the man’s suggestive way of speaking.

“Well, you know. Being warriors and all.”

“That doesn’t mean I enjoy the sight of dead bodies. And I’m a scientist.”

“Shaddup Adams,” his female colleague said. “This ain’t a joking matter.”

The man shrugged in response, stepping away from the escape craft. Although she felt he owed her an apology for his crude attempt at humor, Jetreycka decided to let it slide. With a mild grunt she tapped her wristcom. “Jetreycka to away team. We’ve found no survivors on this side. We’re heading back to the crash site.”

“Raeth here. Same. We’ve got one more to go. We’ll see you back there.”

“This is Freya. Trezka and I have found something. We’re currently tracking a life sign. It’s weak but it could be a survivor.”

“Careful out there,” Raeth’s voice crackled. “Interference is increasing. Head back as soon as possible. Raeth out.”

Reynolds stepped toward her, directing his flashlight on the dirt in front of her feet so they could have a better look at each other. He looked sincere.

“It’s as if the impact killed them. Scans make it look like mechanical failure.”

She nodded. The impact craters were large enough to support their reasoning.

“Yes, but in all of them. As if the breaking thrusters failed to do their job. Something completely shut down these escape pods as they entered the atmosphere.”

***

Following the blinking dot on her scanner, Freya kept pace with Trezka, listening to the powerful but controlled sound of her crewmate’s breathing as they increased the speed at which they moved toward the last contact. Trezka had the advantage here with her larger legs but she tried not to outrun her smaller companion by holding in if she felt she couldn’t keep up.

The nocturnal sounds of Bynali surrounded her. Squawking. Clicking. Scratching. Howling. She was certain she had seen glowing eyes in various colors observing them from trees and bushes. Trusting her scanner, convinced the signatures were harmless animals she focused on their own sounds instead of the numerous smaller dots on the display.

“We’re almost there. Whatever it is, it’s actually moving toward us now.”

Her partner reacted to her comment by slowing down, attempting to spot anything behind the thickets. Freya couldn’t see anything but branches and leaves for more than five steps in front of them. Trezka seemed to realize the tactical disadvantage this would put them in as she felt the light touch of her large hand on her upper chest, causing her to instinctively put a step backwards.

“Distance?” she grunted, pointing her weapon and its muzzle flashlight at the thin but tall cloak of bushes in front of them.

Freya felt her hearts beating faster and stronger as she watched the fast approach of the one signal she had been tracking.

“Coming up fast now,” she said, looking over her shoulder, moving back with Trezka to create more space between them and a possible attacker.

“Thirty steps!”

As she assumed a brace position, her foot claws dug into the dirt. She felt the claws on her hands instinctively extend, the sharp tips scratching the scanner’s housing, a natural reaction to her anxiety.

“Twenty!”

Trezka took quick growling breaths, gun ready.

“Back! Back!” she yelled, trying to stop or at least slow the approach of whatever it was.

She kept control over her trigger finger as the approaching contact turned out to be the only survivor they managed to find so far. Throwing up dirt under her feet as she dashed out of the bushes, she found herself facing a pulse rifle ready to fire. It brought her to a standstill sudden enough to almost knock her off balance. Keeping her distance as the light blinded her, she shielded her eyes with her arm. Convincing herself there was no immediate threat, Trezka lowered the weapon to an angle that allowed them to make eye contact.

Freya gasped. A Sogowan Mantrinesse like Trezka, her body followed the familiar brown color pattern. The red Imperial Guard uniform was torn in several places and ripped to shreds around her left arm. Darker patches were visible around the cuts, the blood having soaked the fabric. The thin trails of red that ran down at one side of her face collected in droplets at the bottom of her muzzle and her right ear seemed to be missing a sizable piece from the tip inward. Panting like she had run for hundreds of steps, droplets of saliva mixed with blood spraying from her beak, she fell on a knee, attempting to keep eye contact. Unable to see how she could cause any harm, Freya jumped toward her left, only then noticing that she was holding something in her right hand.

“Stim pack,” she spat out. Growling in agony she planted the device in her left arm. The pain killers, adrenaline and regenerative substances did their job. It seemed to cause immediate and temporary relief as she closed her eyes and took a couple of ragged breaths. Only for a moment. Then her hastiness returned as she threw the empty container away. When her eyes flashed toward her, Freya saw a lot of the yellow around her irises. “You gotta… get out of here.”


	7. When the Moon Comes Up

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 7 When the Moon Comes Up

_Run._

It was Freya’s first instinct when the fear, projected by the woman’s eyes, caught her in its grip like poison. It kept her hearts racing. It coated her forehead with a thin layer of sweat despite the coolness between the trees. It made her uniform stick to her skin under her armpits. But she had experienced her fair share of tight situations during her intense training. She wasn’t a seasoned veteran, but she did have a knack for wrestling her way out of them. After taking a quick breath to shake the feeling she stuck out her hand.

“Can you walk?”

She grunted in affirmation but didn’t take her hand. Planting her fist into the dirt she pushed herself upward, pain contorting her face as she bit through it. Being about the same size as Trezka, she rose above Freya in height. Her first steps were wobbly, which was more evident because of their species’ large double-kneed legs. Her tail made frantic movements to compensate for this, but she managed to regain some composure. Her eyes then flashed toward Freya again, this time with a sense of gratitude in them.

“ _Hyami._ Name’s Kryssah by the way.”

“Freya.”

“We better go,” she urged. “Where’s your ship? We have to get off this planet!”

Her tone of voice triggered Trezka, who stepped closer, still using the flashlight of her weapon to light the area around them. Tightening her grip on the gun, she used it to gesture them to move in the direction of the crash site.

“My idea. I still can’t shake the feeling that we’re being watched.”

Kryssah wiped at a trickle of blood that threatened to seep into her eye with the back of her hand. She continued to pant as she started walking, hampered by her injuries. Freya covered her left flank, while Trezka had her right.

“I don’t know what happened. We were on patrol until the _Ginjha_ informed us that we had diverted our course to investigate some unusual readings. Next time I knew, something ripped the entire ship in half and I was running for an escape pod. I’m just a science specialist. I wasn’t on duty at the time.”

“We detected those readings too,” Freya said. “Tachyons, neutrinos. I’ve got them on my scanner right now but it’s vague. Can’t get anything accurate because the emissions keep vanishing. Might as well try to catch fish without a net.”

“Keep an eye on those,” Kryssah said between two pants. Her tone gave Freya the idea she would try to rip her head off if she disobeyed. “It’s got to have something to do with it. With the strange noises I kept hearing as I tried to hide. You got any more weapons? Empty pack made mine useless.”

After some hesitation, Trezka tossed her own blaster in Kryssah’s direction. Checking it, she released the safety and continued to hold it in a tight grip at her side. This raised the question why she had to use her blaster in the first place.

“You were firing at something?” Trezka asked in an obtrusive way.

“It kept chasing me!” she bit back. “I couldn’t see it, but it was there. I’m not crazy!”

Freya began to wonder. Kryssah was a finger’s length away from being hysterical. Having survived a crash and suffering from what could be head trauma, judging by the wounds on her head, hallucination wasn’t that farfetched. Stranded on an alien world. Fear for the unknown. These were all factors that could contribute to sensing things that weren’t there. But instead of disputing her words, she checked her scanner’s readings again as according to it, they were less than 600 steps away from the clearing. The sudden increase in number and intensity of particle emissions began to erase doubt about Kryssah’s statements.

“I think we better run,” she heard herself say as the scanner produced a series of audible warnings.

***

“The particle emissions seem to be increasing,” the Earth Alliance officer stated. “Not only on the surface, but here in space as well. That’s what you experienced just now.”

Le’tan ground his teeth in silence, not because he was angry but because he had a gut feeling. A situation was about to unfold and the rate at which it was unfolding urged them to act fast. The human officer aboard the station gathered more of his fellow crew to focus on the matter, working the controls that steered the powerful sensor arrays.

“We’ll warn the _Devonshire_ and the other ships. We gotta get our people off the planet. Might be dealing with Netherspace here.”

That last detail hit him like a shot of adrenaline. The humans hinted at what Syrran suggested earlier. If that was the case, they could not afford to waste more time.

“Got it. Baika, surface team.”

“Aye.”

“Norgu, not sure if this will help but keep our shields up. If we’re dealing with a rift event we might keep our tails.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Can’t reach the surface team. My transmissions keep getting bounced back.”

“Keep trying. We have to get ‘em back.”

This was all they could do from their current position. Announced by their powerful footsteps, Masai and Azdar appeared on the bridge. It wasn’t their domain, but he couldn’t blame them for their curiosity. Their duty was to defend the ship from outside threats after all.

“Were we just attacked?” Masai asked.

The two gunners remained behind the empty center seats, throwing questioning looks in the direction of their fellow crewmates.

“Not yet. But you better get to your posts. ‘Cause I have a feeling we´re gonna need those guns.”

***

For a member of a species with such a unique set of limbs, walking was an interesting thing. Nowhere in the galaxy had they found examples of others who shared their intricate double-kneed legs. It was their signature trait. It was fascinating to see a simple way of walking around turn in to something to behold. Strong muscles like cables of steel. Bones thick as tree trunks. Three sets of joints to provide a sense of unmatched mobility.

One would think that this configuration merely added width and hampered their ability to move around. In one way this was true. When confronted with small confined spaces, Mantrins did suffer some difficulty, as the rest of the universe did not require the extra left and right space. Few species had such a large average body size to expand beyond the legroom of a Mantrin.

But where they had an incredible advantage was when they needed to move with speed. When it came to athletics competitions, other than on their own world, Mantrins were often banned from any disciplines that involved running. While running the legs acted like rubber bands, capable of stretching out to an almost straight position when thrown forward. When the foot hits the ground, the leg snaps back into its normal stance, equaling one running step. It then makes the same movement backwards as the other leg repeats the first. With enough stamina, this biological mechanism allowed them to cross large distances with ease if the terrain allowed it. Therefore, to see them run was an awe-inspiring sight.

But Freya didn’t have time to admire the speed at which her companions moved. Despite her injuries, Kryssah’s survival instinct had taken over, and as they seemed to fly through the forest Freya had to be careful not to run into anything solid and keep an eye on her scanner to make sure they weren’t boxed in. They had less than 200 steps between them and the clearing and with unknown signatures popping up behind them they had to keep moving.

“Can you hear it?” Kryssah panted.

She could. A strange and ominous sound, unlike anything she’d ever heard. It held the middle between buzzing and scratching. It was unnerving as it seemed to come from all directions, although the scanner indicated that the way ahead was clear.

“What is that?” she yelled as they bashed through a series of low bushes, tearing off branches, leaves scattering around. She had to be careful not to trip over the trunks as their considerable momentum would hurl her across the ground like a ragdoll. Although they looked indestructible, Mantrins were just as capable of breaking their legs as any other species.

“I don’t know! I didn’t stay around long enough to find out.”

They did manage to keep their distance but that would change as they reached the shuttle. Freya’s brain worked at top speed as she planned for a fast takeoff. Their survival depended on it. _Open tailgate on approach. Get to controls. Hit the emergency takeoff button to skip preflight checks_. It wasn’t difficult but the one thing she didn’t have any control over were Raeth, Jirro and Jetreycka.

“Freya to away team. Are you guys back yet?”

The channel crackled with static. Even after a retry there was no vocal response. Last time they were in contact they had agreed to head back so she hoped she and Trezka were the last to return. She also hoped the others weren’t in trouble. The pale light ahead of them betrayed that they had reached the clearing. As they passed the last line of trees, they found themselves in the open again.

The giant carcass from the _Hanii Nyra_ was like an artificial rock formation, the metal of the battered hull shimmering in the generous illumination of Bynali’s night sky, her three moons delivering most of it. With no artificial lights to pollute and wash out starlight, they were presented with a dazzling display of the galaxy. Even on their own world, away from the larger cities, they weren’t blessed with such a bright swirling pattern of colorful nebulae and tight clusters of stars.

But unfortunately, they couldn’t sit still to admire it. Slowing back to walking speed with a pair of loud thumps the three Mantrins moved toward the shuttle, only to find out that they were missing one member. Jetreycka had joined the humans and they didn’t have her legs. The tailgate of the shuttle was already open so she could skip that step. Jirro and Raeth were back and on full alert. With their legs pulled close to their bodies, ears flattened on the back of their heads, the lights and pointers on their weapons swept across the tree line. Their tails moved like whips, slapping blades of grass up in the air. It didn’t take long before Jirro fired the first shot. It was a low sound that echoed more in her stomach than in her ears as the pulse left the muzzle. The yellow bolt echoed over the grass plain to hit something they couldn’t see between the trees.

“Did you see something?” Raeth shouted over his shoulder.

Jirro grunted but Freya didn’t know if it was confirmation or denial. She didn’t have time to await the conclusion as she dashed inside the shuttle and prepared it for rapid takeoff. With the idea in her mind to stay as close to the pilot seat as possible, she also hit the button to open the emergency side exit and cover this flank. As the shuttle’s systems were capable of doing all of this after hitting the right buttons, she exited through the side to join in the defense.

Exchanging the scanner for her pulse blaster she targeted the tree line until she noticed Kryssah had dropped to her knee once more, which made her change her decision again. Holding up Trezka’s blaster, having trouble keeping it pointed in the right direction, she seemed incapable of focusing. Her head kept dropping and a string of saliva hung from her beak connected to her chest. _Are her wounds bleeding again?_ The physical exertion was taking its toll on her injured body.

“I’m gonna get the med kit. I don’t think I can do much with it, but I can try.”

“Leave it,” Kryssah panted. “I can do this.”

Her breath smelled like sour milk and her eyes began to roll in their sockets. If this kept up, she would pass out before firing the first shot.

“You’re not gonna hit anything like this.”

“Water. Just get me some water.”

With a nod, Freya returned to the shuttle. They always had a standard set of emergency supplies onboard which could sustain even a crew of six for a few days depending on rationing. Grabbing a full canteen from the storage compartment in the back she went back to give it to her, the sound of more shots echoing in her ears as well as Trezka’s powerful shout.

“I’ve got contact! Open fire!”

Staying true to her word she fired multiple times in rapid succession. Freya felt the pulses vibrating in her stomach, saw the flashes from the corner of her eye. Kryssah seized the open canteen from her grip and put it to her mouth. She drank the contents in one go, part of it spilling into her neck and over her chest. Given that she was already a mess she didn’t care one bit. It did seem to renew her energy reserves. Dropping the empty container next to her she forced herself to smile but it was genuine, nonetheless.

“ _Hyami_. Now cover the other flank. What’re we waiting for anyway? The other shuttle?”

“We’re still waiting for one of us. That’s an ECA shuttle. Humans are here too to help us.”

“Ugh, humans. If it were just them we should’ve left already.”

Ignoring the hateful comment, she did as ordered, even though she outranked Kryssah which was irrelevant given their situation. Whatever grudge she held against humans or the Earth Alliance had to wait.

Taking position to cover an open flank she finally saw what was coming. Dark figures closing in from the edge of the forest like three-dimensional silhouettes. First, she thought she saw humanoids only, but the triple-jointed legs of some were hard to mistake for anything else. Despite her predator-like sight, they were still too far away for her to spot the finer details, but a weak red glow seemed to radiate from parts of their bodies. The air around the apparitions became shrouded by a thin haze which made it hard to see behind them. And they grew in numbers.

It was as if an invisible force started to squeeze her throat, turning it dry in the process. Grabbing her blaster with both hands she fired her first pair of shots at the target she deemed closest. Allowing herself to breathe when she saw it was effective, she focused on the next. Her first target was struck in the chest area close to the shoulder. The first bolt jerked the torso backwards and ripped the arm completely off. The other seemed to evaporate the entire body in a cloud of a black smoke-like substance.

“On this setting my blaster can’t keep up for long!” she yelled over the noise of near continuous fire.

All five of them now fired at their targets and they didn’t have to argue which one to pick. The rifles at their highest setting were powerful enough to vaporize anything with a single shot. Their sidearms were less suitable for a combat situation like this. At least the wreckage of the crashed starship provided a barrier on one side of the clearing.

“Jetreycka is sure taking her time,” Trezka grumbled, taking down multiple targets with a series of shots. “I’ve got two reserve packs and this one’s empty. I’m reloading.”

She seemed to handle the downtime fine, her hand finding the new powerpack attached to her toolbelt by touch as she ejected the empty one. In the meantime, Jirro covered part of her target field but it didn’t take more than a few ticks.

“Kryssah, you okay?”

“Fine.” Despite the strain in her voice her reply was quick and alert. “Where’s that crewman of yours? We gotta move!”

“Last time I heard they were heading back. I still can’t raise them. Those things are interfering with the comms.”

Switching to her reserve power pack, Freya noticed how their targets had come closer. They were being boxed in. If Jetreycka didn’t hurry up there wouldn’t be anything left to get back to. They were now close enough for her to spot several gruesome details on two of the stumbling abominations.

One of them was Mantrin, a member of the _Hanii Nyra_ crew without doubt. The other was from another bipedal species she didn’t recognize. The clothing was torn to shreds in several places, revealing blackened skin covered in lesions. These lesions took the form of injuries which were their original cause of death. Glowing red veins spread out from them like webs, visible even under what little rags still hung around their bodies. But it wasn’t so much the common things that did their best to scare her. It were the eyes for they looked, if they weren’t missing, completely normal.

It was like she stared into a trapped soul. Like the original person that once controlled the body was still in there, unable to do anything. Watch, as through a window, as their body was being controlled by the alien influence of the Nether. This thought, that crept into her mind and nestled itself in there, was far more terrifying than the exterior. It was a good guess that this was her fate, if she allowed them to touch her.

Firing a couple of shots with her fresh power pack she took them out, praying it would free their spirits. The bodies vanished into a cloud of vapor-like particles. The thing that kept her consciousness free of guilt was that it was better than allow them to be enslaved to this horrifying phenomenon.

“There they are!”

Raeth’s voice came from behind and indeed, the four members of the Earth Alliance team with Jetreycka in the lead came roughly from the direction he was facing. This confused her at first because it wasn’t their point of entry when they entered the forest. But the large number of enslaved soldiers of the Nether that followed them as they returned fire over their shoulders explained their late return and the detour.

“Go. Go!”

She didn’t need the extra urge.

“Cover this side, they’re getting close!”

Nimble as she was, she climbed back onboard, jumped behind the controls and diverted power to the warmed-up engines. With the hatches open the soft whine turned into a powerful howl. Flashes of weapons fire lit the interior through the cockpit window. She watched the humans get ready for takeoff with the forces of the Nether getting close enough to rip the hull panels off their craft. Heavy thumps and foot claws on metal announced the boarding of her own crewmates and the moment she looked over her shoulder Raeth planted himself in the seat next to hers, automatic seatbelts engaging. Her commanding officer had worked up a sweat and despite the edginess in his voice he managed to keep his cool.

“Everyone aboard? Then hit it!”

Her hands squeezed the control sticks as she hit the throttle, closing the hatches as the engines lifted the shuttle off the ground. The noise around her was a miasma of growls, shouting and the discharge of pulse rifles. Judging by Trezka’s and Jirro’s voices the attackers were trying to get onboard, preventing the tailgate from closing, only to be met by deadly rifle fire. To prevent the defending side from toppling over when tilting she kept the shuttle leveled out. Waiting for the all clear signal she watched the Earth shuttle speeding up into the sky, one of the attackers who had managed to climb onto the hull, sliding off and falling back to the surface.

“That was the last one! Go Freya!”

Their voices sounded closer now and she heard Trezka and Jirro take their seats. But right as she hit the throttle, an invisible force pulled the small ship’s nose down. The automatic seatbelts kept them strapped in, for the sudden jolt was powerful enough to have launched her against the windshield.

“What the--”

She didn’t finish as she clenched her teeth, yanking the controls to correct the maneuver, the engines whining as she tried to force the ship free from the invisible grip trapping it into position a couple dozen steps above the surface.

And then she saw what caused it. A single entity between the masses of trapped souls that was unlike the others. Much darker, almost haunted. A tall humanoid as far as she could judge. All kinds of spiky extensions grew out of its body. If it was an actual tangible body to begin with and not some ghostlike appearance. Although she looked at it from a distance, whatever it was, it gave her the feeling it pierced into her. That stare tugged at her very being. As if it communicated with her very essence. And then it hit her. _Intelligence._

“What’re you waiting for, girl? Shoot it!”

Raeth’s shout in her right ear shook her up from her momentary escape from reality. Activating the shuttle’s dual forward-mounted pulse cannons she fired a series of shots in the general direction of the creature. Even without aim, the bolts which were much more powerful versions of those fired by their rifles and blasters vaporized dozens of targets, slamming craters into the ground as dirt and grass flew up into the air.

Although the creature itself remained unharmed, protecting itself with what looked like an energy shield, her shots were effective. It seemed to lose its grip on the shuttle, the craft wriggling and jolting free as she kept applying thrust. Leaving it for what it was she applied full power, the craft blasting away from the surface.

It was only until they reached the stratosphere that she allowed her breathing to return to a steady rhythm, letting go in a sigh of relief.

“No one injured?” Raeth inquired.

His question was answered by several murmurs and grunts of approval. It was Jetreycka who asked the more important question.

“Who’s she?”

When Freya looked back, she noticed their rescued survivor was knocked out, her head rolled to the side. She was kept in her seat by the automatic seatbelts.

“Her name’s Kryssah. She’s the only one we found alive. She _is_ still alive, isn’t she?”

“I can feel a pulse. Poor thing looks like she’s been through a lot.”

“Raeth to _Myr’loa_.”

There was genuine relief in Le’tan’s voice when he replied.

“Go ahead, sir. We thought we lost you. Glad you’re okay.”

“Never mind that. We’re bringing in a survivor. Alert Salu. She looks pretty banged up.”

“Got it. Shuttle bay’s open.”

***

Moa could recall several occasions on which she was judged by her humble appearance. Fjetanha were among the smaller races of Mantrin. Rarer too as she considered the presence of Nami, with whom she shared quarters, a streak of luck aboard a ship as small as the _Myr’loa_. But she hated being underestimated because of her looks.

In the closed community in which she grew up she was used to a very traditional style of life. Fjetanha were matriarchal. As a woman of her kind, she was among those selected to leave the community by means of a series of challenges to determine the fastest, strongest, and most cunning. This was no easy task.

With her knowledge of both new and ancient healing techniques she was used to treating injuries sustained during the hunt. She had helped herself and others during dangerous survival challenges that could leave them on their own for days. Therefore, she considered the sight of blood or wounds and their treatment a mere routine job.

When the shuttle hit the deck of the bay after making a 180-degree turn, she already had an antigrav stretcher ready. Salu stood on the other side of the stretcher, tapping his fingers on its soft padded surface. Itan watched from a safe distance near the back wall as the shuttle returned, ready for a post-flight inspection.

After the tailgate hit the deck, Trezka walked out first, snorting as she returned two pulse rifles and their spare powerpacks to the arms locker to charge them. It was Jirro who carried the injured and unconscious woman they had rescued backwards out of the shuttle in his strong arms. With no control over them, her legs dragged ungracefully over the deck. To shorten the distance, Moa pushed the stretcher toward him, lowering its default height so he could place her down on her back. Ignoring the stains on his untidy clothes he looked at the result of his work with a cranky look on his face, heaving a sigh as he placed her legs on top too instead of letting them dangle.

“Pretty banged up all right,” Moa said, studying the various injuries she had sustained.

In particular the congealed blood around the largest wound on the woman’s head grabbed and kept her attention. Her uniform was ripped and stained in several places and her left arm was worth taking a look at as well because it had a strange and unnatural color. She judged that the loss of blood in combination with her head injury had knocked her out. Salu seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“That head injury looks bad. Let’s take her to sickbay right away.”

“Will she be all right?” Raeth, who had come up behind Jirro asked.

The entire away team, except for Trezka now stood around the stretcher. Salu nodded.

“I believe so. But the sooner we get her hooked up the sooner I know for certain.”

“Her name’s Kryssah,” Freya said. “In case she wakes up.”

Moa did not let Salu repeat himself, pushing the stretcher to the bay’s exit.

“I’m gonna decon first,” Trezka decided. “Who’s with me?”

They all agreed. The immuno-boosters would protect them for a couple of more cycles, but Moa knew it was best to get rid of anything sticky they might have brought with them. About half a cycle would do fine. Treating the injured woman on the stretcher in front of her however took precedence over possible stray microbes. If anything serious had been detected, the bio scanners would’ve already alerted them.

Salu’s eyes flashed from the woman to the way in front of him a couple of times. Her condition seemed to have him more worried than she was.

“We’re gonna hook her up immediately. We need to see if she has any internal injuries first. That could be life threatening.”

***

Sharing the decon chamber with his crewmates, Jirro did not look at anything or anyone in particular. The diffuse blue light spreading along the walls and ceiling of the rectangular room attached to the shuttle bay had a strange calming effect on the other attendants, but not on him. What he had seen down there on the surface was unlike anything he had ever fought before.

During the time he spent in the Imperial Army as a foot soldier, he had always fought tangible enemies. Things with living breathing bodies. Down there he had the feeling he had been fighting an army of the dead. Those people could not be alive anymore and there were far more of them than just the _Hanii Nyra_ crew.

He did not want to admit to himself that the entity that controlled them scared even him. He only caught a glimpse of it. He saw how Freya froze, yet he experienced the same temporarily paralysis in that same moment. His strong muscles tensed when he came to this realization. He liked to think of himself as fearless, yet he had felt more vulnerable in that tiny moment than anywhere in his entire life. With his teeth clenched, he curled his toes, claws scraping the metal under his feet. Most of it went unnoticed as Raeth’s voice masked the sound. He had joined them later for the reason of relaying their discovery back to Sogowa Prime.

“I’ve informed command of what happened here. We need to contain this threat before it moves to an inhabited world.”

“What about the entities down on the planet?” Trezka asked. “Aren’t they a threat to us now?”

Raeth shook his head.

“Baika let me know that the signatures on the planet surface disappeared right after we left. We’re going to stay put until reinforcements arrive. In the meantime, get yourselves cleaned up. Eat. Clear your mind. Something tells me this isn’t over yet.”

“I’m gonna grab somethin’ to eat and hit the showers,” Trezka said. “I’m starvin’.”

“Fine by me. The bridge is covered.”

Jirro heard all of this but he only noticed that most of it went past him because of Freya. If he had been a more sensitive person, he might have handled the hint of concern in her voice in a different way. But in his current state of mind, her voice did nothing more than startle him out of his slumber of thoughts.

“Are you all right, sir?”

“Whadda you care?”

He looked away when he saw the genuine concern in her eyes. He didn’t mean to react that way, but it was his first impulse. He covered it up with indifference instead. Freya’s face turned into a scowl.

“Well, sor-ry. I’m only asking.”

“He just got scared down there,” Trezka quipped. “That’s what’s getting to him.”

“Shut your trap!”

“Would you two cut it out?” Raeth intervened, slamming his hand next to him on the metal bench.

With a tight feeling in his chest, Jirro locked stares with Trezka. She couldn’t seem to resist smiling at him, his hands which had turned into fists shaking as he pressed them deeper into his thighs. Snorting like a rhino ready to charge he let out a growl, his tail beating against the wall behind him with a loud echoing bang.

“Whatever you do in the time it takes for more ships to arrive, stay on alert. Entertain yourselves but stop bickering. That’s an order.”

With those words he decided to take his leave. _I’ve been sitting here long enough._ Jirro stood up, his large muscular figure rising above the heads of the others. Ignoring Trezka with her witty remarks and antagonizing glances he sought eye contact with the only person who surpassed him in rank.

“Permission to leave, sir.”

“Granted.”


	8. Eclipse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music references:
> 
> One Love by Bob Marley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g
> 
> Hoshi no Tobira by Satori Negishi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sibHkQ69Ki4

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 8 Eclipse

After maneuvering the stretcher with Kryssah’s unconscious body in the empty space next to the fixed beds, Moa touched the controls of the interface of the equipment integrated into the wall to bring up the full body scanner built into the floor. This supported the antigrav stretcher so the systems that kept it afloat could turn off. It also surrounded the bed with an advanced scanning and monitoring system to keep track of the patient’s vital signs.

With the scanner locking on to Kryssah’s bodily functions, the screens and controls built into the wall near her head sprung to life. Guided by chimes and beeps they began to display charts of heart rate, respiratory rate and blood flow as well as providing detailed insight into various other parameters. After running a full scan, a large diagram of her entire body appeared on the largest monitor.

“She looks stable for now, but she’s lost a lot of blood,” Salu concluded, after studying the readings. “There’re signs of dehydration as well.”

“I’ll start by removing her clothes, doctor.”

Salu smiled.

“Call me Salu, Moa. You’re more than just my assistant. Let’s get into something more sterile first.”

She smiled back before following him to the small storage room in the back. It was hard not to like Salu. He was rather complimentary. Sympathetic too as she would expect from someone with his profession. She started by bonding her signature chestnut brown Fjetanha hair, split into two tails, into knots using hairbands. She then covered it up with a hairnet, especially designed for her, even taking care of her ears with the little tufts of fur at the tips.

The rest of the procedure was standard. Decontaminate the hands. Put on a surgical scrub over the standard duty uniform. Put on gloves. Put on a mask that covered their beaks. After loading a cart with all the necessary equipment, they walked back to the table where Kryssah was still lying in her motionless state.

Doing as she said, she grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting through the tough but flexible fabric of the Imperial Guard uniform from the bottom up as Salu prepared a mild sedative, in case she woke up. After that he applied the hand-held tissue regenerator to treat the wound on her head first.

“The left arm looks broken. That’ll require regenerative treatment.”

Moa nodded. As she exposed Kryssah’s chest, she noticed her breasts were wrapped in a bra, which she removed as well. Her whole torso was covered with small and large cuts and bruises, which had bled only recently.

“I’ll remove the pants too. Her right leg doesn’t look good. That down there on her thigh looks like some kind of burn mark.”

“Proceed. I’ll take a look.”

As she continued to cut and remove clothing, dumping the stained rags into the garbage container attached to the surgical cart, Salu progressed his treatment of their patient’s visible injuries. In the meantime, Kryssah did not wake up. Her breathing and pulse were on the weak side of the spectrum but steady according to the monitor. With the last part of blood-stained underwear removed she was now completely nude.

Placing her heavy muscular legs in a position that would not be uncomfortable after a longer period of time, with her tail in between, she put the scissors back on the cart and exchanged them for a cleaning cloth. Soaking it in a bowl filled with a saline solution first she wringed it out and began to clean up the blood around the wounds that had received treatment. There was not much they could do about the bruises that marred her otherwise smooth skin. But Kryssah was a young woman. Strong and in the prime of her life. Her body would heal these on its own.

“This is rather curious,” Salu remarked, as he applied the tissue regenerator to the unusual spot on Kryssah’s right thigh for the second time to no avail.

Pausing for a moment, Moa watched with him as the device’s regenerative rays failed to restore the blackened tissue to normal. The lesion looked like a small hole in the flesh, as if punctured by something sharp. The discoloration surrounding it looked more like the skin was burned or infected. The wound wasn’t bleeding but even after a third time the regenerator had no effect.

“It’s not a burn?”

Salu shook his head.

“Bio scanner is registering it, but it can’t seem to specify the type of injury. I’ll have to take a more in-depth look. I need your help turning her on her side so I can treat her back. Careful about the arm.”

With Kryssah still unconscious they had an easier job flipping her on her side. As Salu treated the remaining wounds, Moa literally mopped up after him, washing off the blood that caked to the skin with the cleaning cloth. After finishing the treatment, Kryssah finally looked like herself again, apart from the bruises and the missing part of her right ear. More or less satisfied with the result, they turned her on her back once more.

“Moa, could you apply the bone regenerator? I’ll see if I can help the scanner identify whatever that is on her thigh.”

“Sure.”

As she retrieved the bone regenerator from the storage room, Salu began to fiddle with the medical equipment to look for a solution. The device came with different types of straps so it could be attached or even worn around different parts of the body. For this classic situation she had mounted the smallest strap, so it could be worn like an oversized bracelet. Using the real-time schematic of Kryssah’s body, she adjusted it to the correct position around her upper left arm and activated it. After that, she covered the woman’s resting figure with a crisp white sheet from the linen closet.

“Done. I’m going to clean up.”

Salu, who had taken off his face mask in the meantime, smiled once more.

“Your help is much appreciated. We will not move her for now. Let’s see if she can do this on her own when she wakes.”

***

It wasn’t until sometime later when Raeth decided to show up. He was curious about Kryssah’s condition and the information she might have on what happened, but the patient was not in a condition to discuss this. He was about to approach the bed when Salu halted him dead in his tracks.

“ _You_ are going to have to step back I’m afraid,” he said, frowning upon Raeth’s less than spotless appearance.

He had green grass stains on his pants and sweat had left marks here and there on his shirt. Salu’s reaction was understandable and as Raeth inspected himself he couldn’t do anything else but agree. Stepping back toward the sickbay doors, he apologized.

“ _Uiisa_. I know I could use a shower. How is she?”

“She’s fine. Still out, but I’m more inclined to let her wake up on her own.”

“Found anything unusual?”

“She has this strange injury on her thigh. It looks superficial and the bio scanner registers it as such but it’s not regenerating and according to my real-time analysis it’s not healing on its own either.”

Raeth gnawed on his lip, crossing his arms over his chest, one ear flattening. He then turned around to go back the way he came.

“Okay, inform me when she wakes up. Anything she knows might be crucial in the next couple of cycles.”

***

Heading from decontamination to deck two without detours, Trezka arrived at her quarters together with Jetreycka. Right before entering she looked at her, realizing they had one problem. They were roommates. Only one could take a shower at a time. But instead of making it a problem she decided to use her rumbling stomach as guidance.

“It’s fine. You go. Gonna grab a bite to eat first.”

“All right.”

Moving on to the mess hall she began to wonder _what_ she was going to eat. Every Imperial Guard ship carried a generous supply of rations and pre-prepared meals that only required heating, but she hadn’t taken a look inside the galley yet. With the ship underway on their first assignment, having left space dock only cycles ago, they were bound to have some things fresh onboard. _Now if only I wasn’t such a terrible cook_.

When entering the mess hall, which was at the end of the corridor, she was not alone. Many non-Mantrins would mistake Syrran and Itan for brothers as they were the same race. However, the two Gouregs had more than enough variation in the color and pattern of their skin, the length of their limbs and their individual parts and their facial structure to make them distinctly different from one another.

The first thing she noticed was that they were sharing a meal, each on a different side of the middle of the three rectangular tables. The second thing annoyed her, as they flared their nostrils at her in an almost exaggerated way. She was aware of the sweat stains under her armpits. She was also aware that the sweat of a woman her age contained a healthy dose of pheromones. But it wasn’t so much the snorting that annoyed her. It were the grins and suppressed chuckles that helped them get under her skin.

“Forget it!” she snarled. “Don’t you guys have mates?”

“I don’t,” Itan’s voice replied, followed by another chuckle.

She walked around the long galley counter, scanning the kitchen for any leftovers. When she couldn’t find any on her first pass she leaned on the counter, catching their attention with a mere glare. At least they stopped having fun at her expense and became serious.

“What’re you guys having anyway?”

“Weyan prepared some roast with a portion of the fresh meat we have but he wasn’t satisfied,” Syrran said. He poked with a claw in a piece on his plate, piercing it and putting it in his mouth. “Said something about needing the right wood, the right temperature, a real fire. Blah blah. I think it’s good though. It’s in the stasis cupboard.”

“You should try Baika’s grilled vegetables too,” Itan added. “I usually like meat better, but this girl knows what she’s doing.”

The stasis cupboard. A very convenient piece of technology to have aboard a smaller starship where not everyone could eat at the same time and shareable portions were prepared at irregular intervals. It kept food contained in a stasis field that slowed degradation to a crawl, preserving not only temperature but also structure and flavor. This had its limits but with the latest models, it could take up to twelve cycles before the difference between a freshly prepared or preserved meal became noticeable.

“Stasis cupboard,” Trezka muttered under her breath.

The large cupboard was located on another counter perpendicular to the one that separated the galley from the mess hall. From the outside it looked like an extra wide oven, even using the same type of single-hinged door attached to the bottom. She was greeted by two large portions of food. Like they said, slices of roasted meat and a mix of different grilled vegetables. She didn’t care what it was. It was food. Fresh food and her stomach demanded it. Grabbing a plate she began loading it, being generous to herself, as there was more than enough for a couple more who shared her hunger. The scent of spices alone made her mouth water, forcing her to swallow.

After making sure that the cupboard door was closed, she walked back to the main counter, put down her plate and put a large piece of the meat in her mouth. Even before chewing she felt how the perfectly prepared roast caressed her tongue as it started to melt. The simple mixture of salt and a few Sogowa-native spices elevated a simple piece of roasted animal to a new level. _Or maybe I’m not used to eating this good that often._ When she did chew, the juices and fat contained inside the meat seemed to explode, inducing a chill that moved up her spine. Swallowing in-between to prevent drooling, she shook her head as she cleared her mouth.

“He wasn’t satisfied?” she exclaimed in disbelief.

“No he wasn’t. Like I said, the right temperature, wood, fire, stuff like that.”

She couldn’t believe it.

_If he can do this without the right materials, than what is he capable of after a good hunting session in the woods?_

It was at that moment that Nami entered the mess hall. The Fjetanha girl was Moa’s equal and opposite at the same time. Her skin’s base color was of the rocky-gray variety as opposed to Moa’s tan brown. The eyes a vivid orange, instead of striking olive. She wore her long jet black hair in a single braid running down to just below the small of her back. Putting one arm on the counter she leaned on it, keeping a respectful distance from her crewmate who was occupied with only one thing.

“I heard you made a narrow escape. What went on down there?”

Ceasing the act of putting food in her mouth, Trezka chewed, then swallowed.

“Death. A lot of it. In different forms.”

“So it _was_ Netherspace. You’re lucky you made it out alive.”

“Yeah, tell _me_ about it.”

She shook her head as she continued eating, playfully using the claw of her index finger to pierce pieces of food.

“What did that girl do to these vegetables? She’s gotta teach me how to make this.”

“It’s simple enough,” Nami scoffed. “Why don’t you sit down? I’ve already eaten but I wanna know what we’re up against. Norgu’s on the bridge and the _Ginjha_ said we’ve got some time to waste.”

“Fine.”

Grabbing her plate, throwing her head back as she put another large piece of meat in her mouth, she followed Nami to one of the empty tables. Figuring a conversation wouldn’t be a bad method to ease her mind about what she had seen, she sat down opposite to Nami on one of the floor pillows. Poking fun at Jirro was about to become one of her favorite pastimes but if she were honest to herself, those things down on the planet gave her a good scare too. But she wasn’t hesitant to admit it, even to others. In fact, it gave her a sense of excitement at the same time.

“So, as we got down there I already had the feeling that something was off. I learned to trust…”

***

With the computer running an in-depth analysis of the fabric of space around Bynali Four, Baika had some to waste like many of her shipmates. When she asked the computer about Jacky’s current location, she was surprised at first that she had to go to the gym on deck four to find her. Being a workout girl herself, she figured it would be nice to share a session with her roommate. She had been meaning to talk to her since they started their mission.

The gym was a spacious room next to the cargo bays, which were in turn next to the shuttle bay. The other facility of significance on this deck was the full dive virtual reality room. Apart from entertainment, it’s many VR programs could also be used for research purposes and it was connected to the main science lab on the deck above it.

Through the window in the bulkhead next to the entrance, she saw Jacky sitting on a bench and she appeared to be the only one down here. It started to look like an opportunity for a good conversation and unable to contain her eagerness she entered the room.

She immediately noticed the drop in temperature, the climate inside optimized for working up a good sweat. Instead of the standard deck plating, the floor was covered with special tiles of a composite material capable of cushioning impacts. The gym was filled with many kinds of equipment for physical exercise. To outsiders it might seem like overkill, but even Mantrins had to stay in shape and other than that she found it a wonderful way to relieve stress and clear the mind.

Her roommate had her two-piece uniform thrown over the same bench she sat on and was dressed in black shorts and a tank top with the Imperial Guard seal on her chest. She didn’t seem to be working out too hard. In fact, she seemed more occupied with the device in her left hand than with lifting the dumbbell of considerable size she held in the other. Until she noticed Baika and smiled.

“Hey. You here.”

She put the dumbbell on the floor next to her. Tapping with her thumb on its screen she placed the device on the bench next to her and removed one of the wireless earbuds she wore. Baika smiled back as she approached her.

She sat down on another bench opposite to her and couldn’t help but study Jacky’s physical characteristics. As a mixture of two races, one of the two her own Orketh race, she had traits of both. Jacky’s base color was closer to the chestnut brown of her own skin than the reddish brown of the Sogowan. The Orketh pattern of darker stripes was visible around her exposed waist and her tail but less prominent. Faded and uneven, like the artist responsible for coloring her unexpectedly ran out of paint. Her muzzle lacked a sharp tip and her large ears had the elliptical shape of the Sogowan but with the pointier darker tips of the Orketh. In her case, the tips hung over slightly and she caught herself thinking that this was a cute detail.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you. But our shifts overlapped, and I felt like cooking something up for everyone. Whatcha listening?”

“Bob Marley.”

“Who?”

“He was a singer. From Earth. From a really long time ago. You remember I told you where I come from, right?”

“Y-Yeah. Your parents were human. You grew up aboard a freighter.”

She nodded and smiled again, picking up the device she was fiddling with.

“The computer aboard the ship had a huge library of old Earth stuff, like music and books. They also had this thing called movies. It’s when people, humans, pretend to be someone else and then they act like they’re in a story. Then they record this so you can watch it back.”

“That sounds kinda weird,” Baika said with frown. “Is it like a play?”

She tried to imagine what that would look like. It would be like a holo-game or a VR session but without actually taking part. Like watching it in spectator mode. But Jacky shook her head.

“It’s not weird. It was a really popular form of entertainment on their world back then. I really like their music too. Here, try it.”

She handed her the other earbud. These were common pieces of equipment, so she knew what to do with it. Putting the tiny speaker in her right ear she waited for Jacky to pick a tune. Concentrating as her roommate started the music, she didn’t know what to expect and was surprised at what she heard. A male voice singing in an alien tongue. Instruments she didn’t recognize. But it was strangely mesmerizing, relaxing even. Jacky’s smile widened, showing a few teeth in the progress.

“You like it? You’re not wearing a UT, right?”

“I understand why you like this. It’s… like nothing I’ve ever heard before.”

“Here, try this one.”

She had to admit to herself, she felt her own enthusiasm growing with that of her roommate. It felt so alien, yet these voices sounded as if they were trying to tell a story. A story from a time long past. The next piece of music was very different. This time it was a woman’s voice. The language was also very different from the first song. At first, she found it hard to believe that these two pieces originated from the same world. Then she realized that her own kind had different races too. With unique languages, customs and culture. _Maybe humans aren’t so different in that regard._

As this song continued, she realized it did something to her. Something she did not expect to happen because she did not understand a word of it. The forests of Solbrecht that always smelled of blossom. The sound of rain on the transparent roof panels of the dome over the _Ahwali_ habitat. The long talk she had with Myrann on the night before goodbye. The warm hugs of her parents and friends on the day she left for the academy to fulfill a lifelong dream. She swallowed as she looked in Jacky’s eyes.

“What _is_ this?”

“I believe the name of the song is pronounced, _Hoshi no Tobira_. It means something like, _Gate of Stars_. It’s from a series I liked to watch in my spare time. That’s like a movie but in parts. And each part is a small piece of the larger story.”

She did her best to process all of this. Jacky was explaining a lot of things in rapid pace she had trouble picturing in her mind. Humans had settled Solbrecht. But the community where she came from, part of the _Oghuni Teh Neywa_ , only had contact with others outside their society in times of need. They did conduct trade with the nearest city and people were allowed to visit but humans were never among them. Most things she knew about them she learned on the academy. Only because they were a major power in the quadrant and the Empire and Earth Alliance considered each other allies. And that was mostly politics, military and social structure. Culture and especially ancient culture was considered irrelevant.

Taking out the earbud she tossed it back to Jacky who caught it. Her roommate then took the other one out of her ear and put them in a case.

“So, what do you think?”

“I still think it’s a bit weird, but I could get used to it.”

Jacky’s smile faded as she looked at her. She felt ready to apologize. She didn’t want to insult her hobbies. It was the trouble she had in trying to understand it all.

“Please don’t say ‘weird’. I’ve heard that a lot since I joined the academy. People called me weird quite a few times.”

“ _Uiisa_. I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just that, you gave me a lot of things to think about. I do love the music, honestly. It’s so different from ours, and quite beautiful.”

She smiled again. But her voice now had an undertone of sadness in it and a trace of anger too. Her past was still bothering her after all this time. It was something Baika could understand.

“I think it’s because of how I was raised. I tried to make friends on the academy. But people are so quick to judge. It’s like they blamed me for who I am. I don’t even know who my real parents are.”

“Well it’s not your fault. On Solbrecht, bonds between two different races are often looked down upon. It’s your parents who made a mistake, not you.”

It was out before she knew it. At first, she didn’t realize she had said something wrong. That she had said something that completely derailed the beginning of a friendship they had been building towards. Had Jacky’s eyes been full of kindness and mutual acceptance mere moments ago, they were now narrowed to slits. Her ears flattened on the back of her head and her voice turned into a snarl.

“Yeah, that’s right! I’m weird and I’m a mistake!”

Snorting in anger she rose to her feet, stomping on the floor as she grasped her stuff.

“F-Forgive me. I… I didn’t mean to say something like that.”

“You had it easy!” she snapped. “You with your perfect little life in your perfect little community! Well I didn’t! I never knew my real parents and I never will!”

Baika swallowed, having a lot of trouble with it. She had inadvertently touched Jacky’s most sensitive string and then snapped it in half. _How could I be so careless?_ She liked to small talk and her mouth had gotten her in some tight situations before but nothing like this.

“Please, I didn’t mean what I said.”

With her uniform flung over her shoulder Jacky stomped out of the gym. Her tail lashed out against a rack of weights, a number of them spilling out and hitting the floor with loud dull thumps. She left Baika sitting on the bench with a knot in her stomach the size of a boulder. She could hardly breathe. Hitting her thighs with her fists she tried to swallow but something was stuck in her throat. _Stupid Baika. How could you say something like that to her?_ Confused about what to do, she buried her face between her legs. _We’re roommates. How can I make this up to her?_

***

“ _Ginjha_ , two of our ships have entered the system. You may be needed on the bridge soon.”

“Understood. I’ll be there after I’ve spoken to our guest.”

Eager to get more answers on what happened to the _Hanii Nyra_ , Raeth made his way to sickbay. Salu had informed him that their visitor was awake and that she seemed rational enough to talk to. He had exchanged his dirty uniform for a fresh one after a quick shower. While sharing a meal with Jetreycka, she told him Baika had the computer running an analysis on their surroundings. It began to look like the integrity of the fabric of space surrounding the planet had been compromised. This caused the ruptures through which extra-dimensional entities could enter their reality. With each passing cycle he became more and more convinced that this had caused the destruction of the _Hanii Nyra_.

As he walked into sickbay, Salu eyed him and then continued caring for his patient. He was surprised to see her almost back on her feet. Instead of lying on the stretcher, she sat upright on the edge of one of the standard beds in a light blue sickbay gown. As Salu removed a bone regenerator from her arm, Moa was treating her right thigh with another device.

The woman looked up as he entered, showing little emotion on her bruised face. They had healed her wounds and cleaned up the blood, leaving her only with a few discolorations on the visible spots on her body.

“They’ve been treating you well, I see.”

She nodded.

“I’m Kryssah. Thanks for rescuing me. Thought I was a goner.”

“Call me Raeth. Can I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure.”

“All done,” Salu interrupted. “Try moving your arm.”

Doing as instructed she rolled her shoulder and stretched her arm a few times. Her face twisted a little in discomfort, but she followed Salu’s instructions, nonetheless.

“It’s a little stiff but I’ll be okay.”

“Keep it brief. She needs rest,” Salu said, taking the bone regenerator back to storage.

“I will doctor.”

He kept some distance, so Moa could continue her treatment. Kryssah smiled which seemed to cost some effort, but she seemed focused enough to convince him she could provide him with meaningful answers.

“Can you remember what happened before you were attacked?”

Reaching for her forehead with one hand, she closed her eyes, massaging her temples. It took a while for her to answer but she tried her best.

“I wasn’t on duty at the time. We had diverted from our patrol because of some unusual energy readings. As a science specialist I was going to look into this after shift change but I didn’t get the chance. One of my shipmates mentioned tachyons and neutrinos. I’m not sure.”

“What about the attack itself? Anything that springs to mind. Anything at all.”

She sighed.

“There was this strange sound. Like what we heard down on the planet, before those things appeared. It was barely noticeable at first, then suddenly it became very loud. Next thing I know the ship was torn apart.”

She shook her head in distress.

“Alarms. Loud noises. Something tore through the hull. I watched my shipmates die! Somehow I made it to an escape pod and hit the eject button.”

She swallowed.

“I was one of the first to make it down to the surface. Right before landing the systems failed. Everything shut down. The crash knocked me out. It was a while later when I woke up. I tried to call for help immediately but I… I…”

“It’s okay. Don’t force yourself. I’ve heard enough.”

Dropping her shoulders, she looked down at the floor. In the meantime, Salu returned with a glass containing a clear and colorless liquid.

“Drink this. You’ll feel better.”

Without hesitation, Kryssah took the glass and drank the contents in one go. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand she gave the glass back. Her left ear and what was left of the other one drooped and after that she opened her beak in a long and wide yawn.

“I can’t figure this out,” Moa grumbled in frustration. Whatever she was doing it didn’t seem to help. The injury on Kryssah’s thigh still looked the same. “It’s some kind of necrosis. The cells are destroyed but the body is not cleaning it up.”

Kryssah displayed a wry smile.

“Then why not just cut it out? I can handle it.”

Raeth didn’t know if it was because Moa stopped her treatment with the device or mere coincidence. Her patient was about to laugh it off but gasped instead and grabbed her injured leg.

“For Kirliya’s sake, what the--” she groaned.

“What did you do?” Salu asked, trying to get a closer look.

“Nothing. The treatment had no effect, so I stopped.”

Kryssah’s face contorted in agony as she almost doubled over. Blackened veins spiderwebbed out from the edges of necrotic flesh and continued to crawl over her skin. The bio monitor went wild. Throwing in his experience with emergency situations, Salu reacted in a calm and controlled way, as his patient cursed and let out a shout.

“Put her down on her back.”

With Moa on the other side of the bed they pushed Kryssah down. This was made difficult because her legs had become dangerous weapons. Unable to keep herself under control, she lashed out with violent kicks. Raeth did a step back to remain out of reach as they tried to prevent her from injuring them and herself.

“20ccs!” Salu said as Moa had fetched an injector containing a sedative.

She injected it straight into Kryssah’s thigh as her body began to convulse. Her eyes rolled and they had to keep her arms in a firm grip to prevent her extended claws from doing any damage. As the anesthetic relaxed her body to some degree, Salu put her arm down next to her and checked the scanner readings.

“The cells around the wound are shifting in and out of phase. Her own body is treating it like an infection but it’s attacking her own cells.”

His gaze shifted to Raeth and he saw a flash of shock.

“She’s been touched by the other realm.”

Before he could reply, a shockwave moved through the ship, powerful enough to almost knock him off balance. The lights and monitors flickered. Raeth’s brain kicked into higher gear as he tapped his wristcom.

“Raeth to bridge. What’s going on?”

“Multiple ruptures! One just grazed us. We’ve moved out of the way. Sir, you better get up here.”

“I’m on my way!”


	9. Event Horizon

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 9 Event Horizon

The science lab was a large irregularly-shaped room buried deep inside the ship on the third deck. It was stuffed with all kinds of machines for general research and experiments. Although the primary role of _Myr’loa_ class ships was patrol and rapid response, every Imperial ship had an onboard science facility equipped with at least the basics. Despite all the advanced technology inside, one person now used this space in a way it wasn’t designed for. As a personal retreat.

With her arms crossed over her chest she sat behind the stellar cartography station, a huge curved viewscreen dominating her field of vision. The computer had almost finished its analysis of the space around Bynali Four. The process was sped up with a direct datalink to the research station’s computer and its more powerful sensors. With the other ships also tapped into these resources they had mapped everything to the last cubic step in the time it took for reinforcements to arrive.

Baika wasn’t looking at the results. Her eyes stared into nothingness as her mind replayed the scene in the gym over and over again. _How could I have said that? You idiot!_ She liked Jacky and had been looking forward to becoming friends. After all, they were roommates already. _Should I have gone after her to apologize?_ That could have had the opposite effect. She had tried to apologize immediately but Jacky didn’t listen. These feelings went deep.

As she grew up in a protected environment, she couldn’t fathom what it must have been like. Abandoned by her real parents. Adopted by humans. Jacky told her the first time they met that they cared for her and loved her very much. But still, growing up without members of your own kind? Having to learn everything about your people from a database? She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. There were certain things that couldn’t be taught from texts and images alone. Being curious by nature she had wanted to ask all about it but now that chance seemed ruined. Her thighs still ached from the last time she hit them with her fists. The knot in her stomach was still there.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the growing number of warnings on the screen in front of her. Until an audible alarm shook her out of her slumber. All of a sudden, her hearts raced when she realized what she had missed. Jumping out of her seat she sped toward the room’s exit as a powerful outside force hit the ship and knocked her off balance. A soft cry escaped her beak as she fell, using her strong arms to break her fall. A general alarm chimed in her sensitive ears. Groaning as she scrambled back up, she rubbed her elbows and continued her way, on guard for more sudden tremors.

_I gotta get to the bridge._

***

Being responsible for covering the tactical position on the bridge, Norgu had watched the number of contacts around the planet grow during the last cycle. More ships had arrived, reinforcements of the parties present and new organizations. An additional Indarian destroyer as well as two more Akrennian vessels had joined them. One of them was the same type as Ayko’s ship, the other a great deal larger and carrying an even more impressive array of particle cannons and missile launchers.

The D’Amarans had sent part of the Mizrate Armada, given the fact that they also took part in the colonization effort of Bynali Four. Their fleet consisted of a small number of attack corvettes and two cruisers. Fast to maneuver and usually numerous, the D’Amarans used strength in numbers and speed to overwhelm their opponents in battle.

The Earth Alliance reinforcements had been the first to arrive. Captain Ben had informed them beforehand that they were coming as he had a ‘gut feeling’. As Norgu studied the database information on the Alliance ships, he was impressed and at the same time surprised that for a species preaching to be peaceful, human starships seemed ready to a fight a war. ECAS _Los Angeles_ , a Rings of Saturn class heavy cruiser. The same ship class as Captain Ben’s _Devonshire_ , it mirrored the impressive array of turreted beam cannons and long-range missile launchers.

The other ship was named the _Amsterdam_. Lighter armed but much larger in size and compensating with heavy shielding, this vessel was designated as a carrier, storing a large compliment of attack craft. _Eye of Jupiter class. What do these names mean?_ Curious as he was, he dove into the Empire’s records, thereby catching the attention of Jirro who currently occupied the center seat.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a gruff way.

“I’m studying the composition of the allied fleet, sir.”

Uninterested, Jirro averted his gaze and scratched his neck. He had asked Raeth to return to the bridge as the Empire’s reinforcements had entered the system. In light of their discovery and a possible salvage operation, two larger Imperial ships had arrived. One of them was a Laeisia class like the _Hanii Nyra_. The other a massive battleship, carrying enough firepower to obliterate a world on its own.

“Sir, the _Canai’yu_ is hailing us,” Houn said.

Even though it wasn’t his primary occupation, he covered science and operations in absence of Jetreycka and with Baika down in the science lab. With every station capable of taking over every role, he did this from his usual spot next to Le’tan.

“Let ‘em speak.”

The _Ginjha_ of the battleship was female, somewhat resembling Trezka in her roughness, both in looks and manner of speech. Curt and to the point, she stood in front of her seat, saluting Jirro who copied her.

“Worynn, House of Yttra. Where is your _Ginjha_?”

“Jirro, House of Kezani. I have informed him of your arrival. He will be here shortly.”

Worynn’s eyes narrowed to slits. She did not succeed in suppressing the grunt that escaped her beak.

“Then tell him to contact me as soon as possible. We’ve got a situation to resolve.”

“He’s currently down in sickbay. We’ve rescue--”

Before Jirro could finish, she had cut off the transmission with a gesture. It was as if his brain needed a few more ticks to process this as he stared at the ‘transmission ended’ message on the main viewer. Letting out an annoyed grunt, he sat back down, his elbow on the armrest of the chair as he supported his head with his fist.

“Sir, I’m picking up another contact,” Norgu said.

Double-checking as he said that, he studied the tactical map around the planet. There was one additional signature.

“What is it?”

“It’s not a ship. It looks like some kind of tear in the fabric of space.”

“I confirm,” Houn said. “Another one appeared. Just like it. Particle emissions are increasing.”

“I’ve got more of them. Getting close to our position.”

“Get us away from them!” Jirro barked at Le’tan, who responded within an instant.

Norgu watched the number of signatures increase with every passing tick. The other ships responded in the same way, jumpstarting their engines to blast away from the anomalies as they expanded like a bubble. Despite their fast reaction, Le’tan could not prevent a collision with one of them as they formed around the ship. With the shields raised, the powerful shockwave did minor damage, but it did shake the crew in their seats.

“Alert status!”

“Raeth to bridge. What’s going on?”

“Multiple ruptures! One just grazed us. We’ve moved our position. Sir, you better get up here.”

“I’m on my way!”

“Jirro to crew! Get to your posts!”

The standard lights dimmed. A ring of red light activated around the part of the ceiling where the panoramic viewport met the hull. Le’tan’s piloting skills were on a high enough level to prevent another collision and with a flare from the fusion engines he had the _Myr’loa_ moved out of the direct vicinity of the ruptures that had stopped growing in number.

The research station found itself in a hazardous situation, close to its spherical border. One of the ruptures seemed to have caused damage to its outer hull. Atmosphere escaped through a breach in the top cylinder before the internal bulkhead doors sprang into action. It had been knocked away from its previous stable position in orbit of the planet and was now compensating with its control thrusters.

“Significant damage to the station,” Norgu grunted. “We seem to be okay. Minor damage only.”

“Ask them if they need any assistance.”

“I did,” Houn responded. “They’re thanking us. They have wounded. Minor injuries. They’re receiving help from their own ships.”

Like she came out of nowhere, Baika dashed onto the command deck, making her way to her usual spot.

“Uiisa. I was looking at my analysis results when all of this happened,” she said between two quick breaths as she hopped onto her seat.

“Anything useful?” Jirro grumbled.

“I’m here, gimme a sitrep.”

Raeth had returned to the bridge. Jirro switched seats on his _Ginjha_ ’s approach.

“Sir, like I thought, the fabric of space is very thin in the area surrounding the planet. Not sure what’s causing it, but very little is required to tear a hole. Whatever’s on the other side, it’s actively trying to break through.”

“Something _is_ breaking through.”

Norgu had kept a close eye on the situation the whole time as he listened to the conversations with half an ear. The number of ruptures had remained constant, but now several were growing in size and particle emission rate.

“On the main screen,” Raeth ordered.

Norgu had trouble identifying what he looked at, as did the rest of the crew. Mouths fell open and ears flattened in a wave of astonishment and collective curiosity. The breach looked like something in the way of a white hole. A glowing white sphere with a corona of plasma in a multitude of colors erupting from it. The object, split in half by the event horizon resembled a ship of some kind and the more it revealed of itself, the more he was convinced that it was indeed a vessel.

Part of the hull was made of a material not recognized by the scanners. Instead of reflecting the bright glow of the anomaly it absorbed it, making it appear as black as space itself. The glowing red patterns that reticulately spread over its surface bared a freakish resemblance to the veins of the Nether victims down on the planet. What was even more disconcerting was that the design resembled one of their own. The computer seemed to recognize the outline of the hull as that of a Laeisia class heavy cruiser.

Calm as he usually was, Norgu felt how he forgot to breathe for a couple of ticks after trying to convince his mind of what his eyes were seeing.

"Sir, that's the _Hanii Nyra_!"

Most of the ship looked intact. With the seared off front section down on the surface of Bynali Four, the rear had been left behind and swallowed by the other dimension. What came back was a near complete ship, with the missing portion of the hull replaced by a nightmarish substance. It looked almost organic, like the missing piece had grown back on. Strange extensions that looked like weapons speared out of the front.

“The _Canai’yu_ is hailing us,” Baika said, breaking the silence.

“Her _Ginjha_ demanded to speak to you, sir,” Jirro added.

“Fine. Let me talk to her.”

Worynn was on her feet, tail thrashing from side to side, her fists planted into her hips. Baring her teeth, she seemed to have a lot of trouble keeping her anger in check.

“Worynn, House of Yttra,” she repeated with an impressive level of restraint, keeping her voice down to a respectable volume.

“Raeth, House of Meztar. Forgive my absence. I was down in sickbay with a survivor we picked up on the surface.”

“Has he or she been infected?”

“She has been touched by the Nether. My doctor is doing what he can--”

“Then you must _kill_ her!” Her eyes flashed and her voice contained little sympathy, if any at all. It was an order, not a suggestion. She also seemed sure of herself. “Trust me. There is no cure. You must kill her before she turns.”

“Are you sure?”

“I _am_ sure! I’ve been at this stage. I’ve lost people to the Nether. It’s a fate worse than death. You’ll be doing her a favor.”

Even though Norgu had no experience with the phenomenon, her body language was like an open book. Worynn covered up her feelings with anger, but during her last statements her tone of voice changed. Was it remorse? Grief for those she lost? It was clear she had already made the decision they were going to have to make to determine Kryssah’s fate.

An invisible blast disrupted the moment of doubt. It shook the bridge of Worynn’s ship with such force that she dropped to a knee as she tried to balance herself. With a growl she got back up.

“What was that?” she barked as she sat down in her seat.

“More contacts! They’ve opened fire!”

“Sir, more ships are coming through.”

Norgu warned Raeth at the same time Worynn’s weapons officer answered her question. With shields already up since the beginning as a preventive measure, no serious damage was done. What was a reason for concern was that the enemy’s weapons were powerful enough to literally bring Worynn to her knees with a single blast.

“Le’tan, evasive maneuvers! Bridge to gun crew, you are cleared for firing. We’ve got incoming!”

With the direct video feed to the gunnery deck active on the secondary viewer, the gunners confirmed the order, adapting to the changing tactical situation with instinct and reflexes faster than any computer could.

“We need to contain this threat here and now!” Worynn shouted. “Your weapons officer should have the data on how to seal those rifts. _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar!_ For the Empire!”

The transmission ended. As Norgu coordinated the distribution of targets with the other allied ships, Le’tan used Houn’s guidance and the ship’s excellent agility to evade incoming fire and keep an optimal firing solution for the guns and torpedoes. This was a delicate balance and required complete focus of those involved.

With the larger ships keeping distance to make effective use of their long-range weapon systems without taking too many hits, the smaller and faster ones such as the _Myr’loa_ and the corvettes of the D’Amaran Mizrate Armada used evasive maneuvers and strafing runs to bombard the growing enemy formation with a barrage of torpedoes and sustained energy weapons fire. Even the larger Akrennian ships, including Ayko’s _Tsun’rhaa_ used this aggressive tactic.

It was an eerie sensation that the enemy fleet consisted of ships that had been lost to the Nether. The _Hanii Nyra_ was but on example. Among various types that the scanners didn’t recognize were ships from all the allied parties involved. The other dimension wasn’t picky either. Freighters, passenger liners, small craft; anything it touched became a victim. Most of them were older designs, lost long ago in events and battles like this one. They were absorbed by the Nether, to be spat back out and misshapen by its malevolent force.

Norgu did not detect any life signs onboard but the signatures revealed during a more direct scan of one of the ships sent a shiver up his spine. Whatever crew left wasn’t dead in the normal sense of the word. They had become slaves of the Nether, like those encountered by the away team.

“Incoming small craft!”

“Azdar, do your thing,” Raeth ordered.

“Got it! Shift focus!”

“Sickbay to bridge. We’ve got a situation down here!”

***

Moa couldn’t keep her hands still. She had them clamped around the rubberized grip of the blaster. As her race couldn’t fully retract their claws, she felt them sting into the palms of her hands as her anxiety grew. She didn’t know if it was because the woman she pointed the weapon at mutated into something terrifying, or because she feared that she had to do what was necessary to prevent that from happening.

Kryssah howled. She stood next to the bed she had occupied only moments ago in a state of sedation. The infection of the Nether ravaged her body from the inside. Blackened veins spiderwebbed all over her reddish brown skin, crawling to the tips of her body. They already grew upwards over her neck and entered her face. Clawing at her skin, ripping her gown in the process, blood leaving stains on the thin fabric, her eyes begged her to do the only right thing.

With her raised tail tapping the bulkhead close behind her next to the sickbay entrance, Moa tried to sustain a steady rhythm of breathing. Her throat felt dry when she swallowed. The lights flickered upon another shield impact. Without blinking her eyes, she shifted her weight to compensate for the instability.

“Moa, get away from there!” Salu yelled.

He gestured her to get to the storage room so they could seal themselves inside. The security detail was on its way. _Am I hesitating because I don’t wanna do this myself?_ She was not a killer. She signed up to save lives. The only times she had killed was for food during the hunt back home. She had never taken the life of another intelligent being, let alone a member of her own kind.

“Moa!”

“K-Kill m-me,” Kryssah begged.

The infection had reached her face. Had she been in terrible agony mere ticks ago, it had now turned expressionless. Her eyes lost their spark and became dull and lifeless. As she walked her first wobbly step toward her, Moa closed her eyes, preparing to fire. Her breathing turned shallow. She didn’t want to do this but now there was no other option. Her finger began to squeeze the trigger as she heard another thump of a foot on the deck plating.

“Fire!”

The word echoed in her ears long after the hiss of the sickbay doors and the double discharge of two pulse rifles. After that there was a strange crackling sound, unlike anything she had ever heard before. Taking a couple of ticks to gather enough courage, she opened her eyes as someone took the blaster from her hands.

Where Kryssah stood before, a last puff of black vapor-like particles vanished into thin air before the ventilation system had time to suck them in. A powder-like substance in the same color marked the floor a mere two steps away from her, forming a pattern in the shape of her feet.

“You’re not the killer type, are you?”

Turning her head to the left to see who had taken the gun from her hands, she looked into the vivid orange eyes of Nami. She was accompanied by Trezka, who lowered her gun a few ticks later. Breathing a sigh of relief, Moa rested her back against the bulkhead. The touch of the cool metal through her shirt relieved some of the stress. With the ship caught in battle she felt how the vibrations of minor shield impacts massaged her tense muscles.

Nami was right. She wasn’t a killer. She knew she had a strong will. That she could do almost anything if she put her mind to it. Back home this involved tests of both physical and mental strength and endurance. Tests of intelligence and ingenuity. But the thought of killing another person disgusted her.

“Are you all right, Moa?” Salu asked as he approached her.

She confirmed with a weak nod, more to put Salu’s mind at ease then her own.

“I’m fine. I need some rest. That’s all.”

***

“How many have you got, Thy?”

“I’m at seven.”

“Ahead one!”

“Not for long!”

Weyan laughed, which might seem strange to someone who didn’t know him better. He could understand that there were people who could not comprehend what he went through in the heat of battle. Even though his own life and those of his fellow crewmembers were at stake, the thrill of the fight pumped him full of excitement. He had been familiar with this feeling since a young age. He lived for it.

With a family of experienced hunters on his mother’s side and decorated warriors on his father’s, he well remembered the first time in his life that he ever held a weapon. It was a small longbow of his own making. He had been taught the art of crafting one by his Logri mother, who took him on his first ever hunt in the wild jungles of Sogowa Prime.

His Sogowan father not only gave him his unique looks, but the revered members on his side of the family taught him a different side of handling weapons. Gun handling, knife combat and hand-to-hand combat. It developed his lust for battle and shaped him into the soldier he was today.

“Less talking, more killing!” Azdar growled.

Not that he lost even a split tick of focus. The curved holographic display in front of him offered a between-the-barrels view of the turret he had direct control over. The cameras and optical sensors provided extreme zooming capabilities for distant targeting. In addition, automatic tracking, targeting and threat assessment were available. Next to a direct view, he had access to a tactical map of the area so he could keep an eye on the bigger picture.

Weyan had something the system could not provide though. A well-developed instinct and fast reflexes. He even went as far as to disable a few automated features. _I’m better than this._

“I’m at nine, Wey!”

“Ten!”

“Argh, you’re too good!”

It had been like this since the first time he fought together with Thylun. Every time they fought each other for most kills, in gunfights or ship-to-ship combat behind the turret controls. They both noticed that this ‘game’ of theirs improved their kill count so none of their superiors ever had a problem with it.

“Eleven!”

“You’re just lucky today!”

The ship’s primary weapons were excellent against the smaller and more agile targets. Together with the Mizrate Armada corvettes they made short work of the fighters and prevented them from attacking the allied capital ships. These seemed to be holding out well, but their shields were weakening against sustained enemy fire.

“Those things are tough!” Weyan exclaimed, stomping his foot on the deck.

His attack, which lasted for a couple of ticks did penetrate the upgraded hull of a large freighter but instead of destroying it completely as he expected, the explosion that followed wasn’t even enough to prevent it from returning fire. A red beam from one of the extensions growing out of the hull struck the shields. It was as if the ship was being hit by a wrecking ball. His console lost power for a split tick. His ears picked up the sound of an explosion below deck.

“Controls are not responding!” he grunted, moving the sticks and pulling the trigger.

“Bridge, what happened?” Azdar yelled.

***

“Starboard shields are gone!” Norgu grunted. “That last hit got us good. We’ve lost power to the guns.”

“Can you reroute it?” Raeth asked.

“I can, but the secondary conduits might not be able to handle full output.”

“Do it anyway. We need them back.”

The battlefield changed again. The number of ruptures had been reduced to a handful, not only because of well-placed shots. Some of the tears appeared unstable and closed on their own after a ship had passed through. The larger ships of both sides had been bombarding each other with long-range fire since the beginning. The Earth Alliance heavy cruisers used swarms of missiles to overwhelm their defenses, supported by a multicolored haze of particle weapons and different types of torpedoes from the other ships.

Worynn’s _Tyr’derra_ class battleship was a 2400 steps long behemoth bristling with weaponry. Not only was it equipped with a large number of the same Gatling pulse cannons as the _Myr’loa_ , it also possessed several siege artillery guns. Also suitable for orbital bombardment, they were among the most effective weapons they had against the strengthened ships of the Nether.

But even ships like hers had their limits. They had managed to destroy most of the enemy’s small craft and now the larger ships were closing the distance. The Nether ships were far from the mindless drones that they appeared to be. Several of them, including the captured _Hanii Nyra_ began targeting her ship with focused fire from their upgraded weapons.

“Worynn to fleet, we have to pull back! We’re taking damage!”

“Sir, her port shields are failing.”

With Le’tan trying to create some distance until they could power the guns back up, there was little they could do. The enemy’s bright red beam weapons penetrated the _Canai’yu_ ’s shields. Her hull armor was tough but could not withstand their power.

“This is Captain Theodore Benjamin to fleet. Cover the _Canai’yu_!”

A series of explosions followed as one of the beams cut across the hull of the battleship. Several sections seemed to lose power and her engines lost output as she tried to maneuver out of the line of fire. It looked like they were losing her.

Until several other ships threw themselves into what little space was left between the wounded battleship and the enemy vessels hunting for her. With their shields taking the brunt of the beating the Imperial warship limped away from the battle.

“Three shuttles just launched from the station! It’s under attack.”

The research station’s shields were designed to protect it from meteoroids and space debris. Dimensional rifts were a whole different scenario and not something its engineers had anticipated. Raeth figured the only reason for the enemy fleet to ignore it was because it did not possess any weapons. A single shot from a nearby ship blew off the entire top section. Three Alliance shuttles left the small hangar beneath the ring structure, using an evasive pattern to avoid enemy fire and speeding away from the battle. It looked like they had been waiting for them to clear the area of enemy fighters to make their escape. A short and intense blinding flash erased the station from existence as the main reactor blew, the largest pieces of debris flying in the direction of the planet.

“I’m detecting an unusually powerful energy signature aboard one of the ships,” Norgu said. “Zooming in.”

The vessel he brought into view on the main screen did not look anything like the rest of their fleet. Every part of its structure was composed of the same type of unidentifiable material that filled in the missing section of the _Hanii Nyra_ ’s hull. Very large and elongated, the ship looked almost organic, as if grown instead of built. Dark and ominous, blending in with space itself, if not for the network of red veins spreading all over its surface. The main hull had a spiraling shape, like a misshapen strand of DNA, numerous spikes sticking out at irregular distances. It hovered between the remaining enemy vessels that continued their assault without firing its own weapons. Something was building inside as the vein-like patterns began to glow brighter with each passing moment.

“Something’s building up!”

“How many torpedoes have we got left? Le’tan, prepare for a run on that ship.”

“Aye, sir.”

“About half our complement. But we can only fire a salvo of six at the same time.”

“Load them! Prepare fore and aft tubes! Status on the guns?”

“Two guns still offline! Auto-repair systems are engaged. Best estimate is two millicycles.”

“No time. Le’tan go!”

As Norgu communicated with the other ships in the fleet, everyone began to realize the necessity to put a stop to the buildup of energy inside what looked like the ship that controlled their fleet. They had no idea what it meant. No idea what it was capable of. It could be a weapon. It could be an unknown method of transportation. The latter was even worse. They could not let it get away and reach a populated world.

As the _Myr’loa_ started its attack run, using the two functioning guns on her dorsal front to clear the way, several other ships did the same from different angles. Speeding toward the enemy formation, evading incoming fire, with point defense blasting at any solid ordnance fired in their direction, Le’tan tried to find an opening to strike through.

It was as if whatever intelligence was behind their maneuvers knew what they were up to, defending the larger ship by sacrificing smaller ones. The considerable amount of debris scattered around the combat area could not be avoided with the increasing amount of destruction. Pieces became projectiles that collided with the shields, shaking everyone in their seats as the distance to the target shrunk.

“Front shields weakening!” Norgu grumbled.

“Divert all power. Close blast shutters.”

With a tap on his console Norgu deployed a series of armored plates. They rose from the bottom up to cover the panoramic bridge window, offering an extra layer of protection. As a result, Le’tan switched to a camera view and instruments to fly the ship.

“Fire as soon as you have a lock.”

“It’s not gonna get any better than this,” Le’tan said.

A rain of sparks showered down from the ceiling in the back as one of the beam weapons struck the forward shields with a direct hit that knocked them forward in their seats.

“Shields strength down to 30 percent! Firing torpedoes.”

“Bring us about! Prepare to fire aft!”

With a salvo of six plasma torpedoes fired, Le’tan pushed the engines to do a one-eighty. Still on the evasive, with Norgu redistributing shield energy to cover the stern, his attempt to line up the aft launchers was cut short.

“Sir, it’s jumping!” Baika yelled. The spiral-shaped vessel was struck on all sides by several torpedoes, missiles and beams until it escaped their clutches. The remaining ordnance crossed empty space, flying off in all directions, hitting other ships in the process. “The other ships are jumping as well.”

One-by-one, faster and faster, the remaining ships jumped out of the system. The allied ships were left firing at nothing. With the last of the ruptures closed, the area around the planet was now nothing more than a debris field. The question that remained was: where did they go?

Instead of dissipating, Raeth felt his excitement turn into anxiety instead. There were only a few inhabited systems nearby. _It can’t be. It mustn’t be_.

“Trace them!”

“They’re moving deeper into the galactic center,” Baika said, working the controls as fast as she could.

“Sir, they’re going in the direction of Solbrecht.”


	10. To Defend Our Home

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 10 To Defend Our Home

“…heading for Solbrecht.”

Raeth felt how his hearts skipped a beat when the last part of Baika’s statement seemed to echo in his ears. His worst fear was about to become a reality. Any populated world meant that the lives of innocent citizens were at stake. But Solbrecht was a different matter. It was _their_ world. Several members of the crew had family there, himself included. Although the Empire had little influence on civilian matters, military-wise they were authorized to defend the lives of their own citizens.

“Houn, plot a course and get ready to pursue. We cannot let them reach any inhabited worlds.”

“Yes _Ginjha_.”

“Can we reach Solbrecht before they do?”

The young Goureg flattened one ear and relayed the inquiry to the computer with a few quick taps.

“They’re using a different propulsion method than we do. Based on their current course and speed, at our maximum QV factor we might be able to beat them by ten maybe fifteen millicycles if we leave now. A quantum jump might give us an edge though.”

Raeth’s mind worked at top speed. He had to decide now as they lost precious time with each millicycle of delay. It could work, but the quantum singularity required time to regenerate back to full power afterwards.

“What if we slow down halfway and jump the last part? Can we make that?”

Houn smiled, entering the new parameters into his calculation. Raeth caught himself thinking for a tick that he was talking to a boy, and a very smart one at that. His voice which wasn’t as deep as some of the other members of his race strengthened that image. But above that, he was also an officer of the Imperial Guard and it showed.

“That would give us a little over half a cycle.”

“Good enough. Get ready. Baika, the fleet?”

“Worynn is hailing us, sir.”

“Put her through.”

The _Canai’yu_ ’s bridge was in a state of disarray. Last time they had contact, her _Ginjha_ didn’t seem like the type of person known for her large supply of patience and she had wasted every drop of it. The way she drew breath was like an odd mixture of panting and growling. With her face twisted into a scowl, she barked a final order in the direction of her subordinates before addressing Raeth.

“They got us good. Quantum drive is offline.” She cursed. “They’re heading for Solbrecht. My navigator told me. You better go after ‘em. The Solbrechtian Navy isn’t equipped to fight a battle like this. If they catch them off guard, they don’t stand a chance.”

“We’re ready to go. But we need reinforcements. They won’t be able to hold them off for long.”

“Just go, Raeth! We’ll come after you as soon as we can. I’ll get command to send any ships in range to assist you. _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar._ Worynn out!”

“Le’tan?”

“Aye.” The quantum drive spooled up. As the blast shutters undeployed, the stars turned into a stream and mere ticks later they traveled through a quantum tunnel. “QV factor 14, sir. We can’t go any faster.”

“Baika, ship-wide please.”

“You’re on, sir.”

“Raeth to all crew. Our enemies are heading for Solbrecht, but we’re gonna beat them to it. Make repairs. Switch places. Get rest. It’s not over yet. I’m counting on all of you.”

***

Itan yawned as he made his way from the cargo hold and the supply of spare parts back to the elevator platforms. He had been up for quite a while, but the situation required everyone to remain alert and the ship needed repairs. Auto-repair systems and their nanites had their limits and sometimes parts required manual replacement.

After the short inspection of the primary power conduits, he and Jacky and been sent down to get the replacement parts. Their backpacks were filled with the necessary relays, photonic circuit boards and other minor parts that the diagnostic system had marked. The Guard’s latest ships were designed with easy maintenance and quick access to vital systems in mind, so their toolset was small. Access panels could be removed without tools and many systems used swappable modules of which they had tons in reserve.

“I’ll go front. Can you look at the aft turret control systems?” His partner hummed in response. He was sure it was positive, but it was also obvious that her thoughts were somewhere else. They had reached the central corridor when he decided to ask. “You okay?”

Jacky sighed, muttering under her breath.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem fine.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” she bit back, her tail thrashing against the bulkhead by accident.

“Sheesh. Don’t bite me.”

He blinked a few times at her response. Deciding not to ask further he stepped with her on a platform that brought them up to deck two. The gunner stations were in the middle of the ship, but they had to get to the actual turret control systems, so they parted ways. Without saying a word, they had split up when Nami came walking toward them from the direction of the mess hall.

“Need any help?”

“Looking to get your hands dirty?” he asked.

The Fjetanha girl shrugged.

“Trezka wants to get her share of battle so she’s taking over Norgu’s position on the bridge. Can’t believe she still has the energy after her encounter down on that planet. So, if you can use an extra pair of hands?”

“Jacky, you need help?”

“I said I was fine! I can do it on my own!”

Nami frowned.

“What did you say to her?”

This time he shrugged. The sound of Jacky’s loud footsteps disappeared into the back. He had noticed she was quieter than usual after she returned from her break. She seemed agitated since that moment too. Her responses were usually cheerful. Now they were snippy.

“I didn’t say anything. I just asked if she were all right. But yeah, I can use a hand.”

“Lead the way.”

***

As Syrran made his way to the bridge, the conversation he had in the mess hall with Itan lingered in the back of his mind. The other Goureg seemed to have come from a very different life than he did, yet they did share some common interests. They were both used to modern society, but where his House was revered for its long line of soldiers, Itan’s family had a much stronger connection to nature. Despite that, Itan had decided to become an engineer. He became a navigator.

It meant that they both had in common that they became Imperial Guard officers while their families had a different path laid out for them. It also turned out that in both cases, there was no objection to them following their dreams. And so they both ended up on the same ship.

As he stepped off the platform on the top deck and arrived on the bridge a few steps later, he noticed that several of the crew had switched places after the battle. Jetreycka had taken over from Baika. Trezka had swapped places with Norgu in her lust for battle. He was about to relieve Houn. Only Le’tan hadn’t switched with Freya.

“You okay, Houn? Shall we switch?”

The younger Mantrin looked up over his shoulder, a sparkle of joy in his royal blue eyes. He had taught him about the more advanced functions of the navigation console and some tricks of the trade before the battle. It was an excellent opportunity to put it into practice.

“I’m okay. If I’m honest, there were some tense moments but Le’tan did all the difficult stuff. I was keeping escape routes open and plotting attack runs.”

“You did well, Houn,” Raeth said with a nod.

“Couldn’t’ve done it without you, son,” Le’tan added.

Syrran suppressed a chuckle when he noticed what those compliments did to the boy’s face. His tail wagged like a child’s after receiving a piece of candy from a schoolteacher.

“D’you wanna do the grand finale too?”

He shook his head, pushing himself backwards away from the console.

“I’ve had my share. You can take over.”

They switched places. Adjusting the console’s height to his own physique, he slid forward on the seat. He noticed an in-between stop was set along their current course. According to the diagram, they would jump the second half of the trip to Solbrecht. His lowered ear triggered Houn to explain.

“We’ll reach the jump point in about ten millicycles. It will give us an edge over our pursuers.”

“Got it, thanks.”

***

“Moa, there’s nothing you could have done. You did all you could. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Salu stood in the middle of sickbay. The girl who was his assistant, sat on one of the beds, her long legs spread in such a way that they dangled over the edge without the hoof-like nails of her toes touching the deck. She looked down at the corner of the bed between her thighs, absent-mindedly tracing the pattern in the covering with a claw. Her plumed tail usually formed a firm S-shape but now it was lying on the bed like there wasn’t a bit of strength left in it.

He watched as she took a breath. Letting her shoulders hang, placing both hands on the bed, she looked at him.

“I know. It’s just… she was our first patient aboard this ship.”

Salu nodded. It was a rough start. If Kryssah hadn’t been touched by the Nether, she would’ve been on her feet by now. The malevolent force that claimed her life wasn’t a disease. It was an alien influence. There was no cure.

“Hmm, I understand how you feel. It’s difficult to accept sometimes.”

She averted her gaze to the side. The plumed tip of her tail gave a mild tap on the bed.

“I… I was about to kill her myself. When she turned… If Nami and Trezka hadn’t come.”

“You had to. She was no longer the woman we took care of.”

She looked at him again and swallowed. Her voice was close to a whisper when she spoke.

“I’ve never killed anyone.”

“It’s what sets you apart, Moa. You became a healer for a reason. What you were about to do, would’ve been the only right thing. It wouldn’t have brought her back, but it would’ve set her free.”

As she pondered this, his words seemed to lift her mood. It was made clear by her prehensile tail, which seemed to come alive like a snake, reassuming its S-shape. The edges of her beak turned into a wry smile. His comforting words and a little bit of logic seemed to have done the trick.

“Do-o-o-c, I had an accident,” a whiny male voice said, coming from the sickbay entrance.

It turned out to be Thylun. The albino Mantrin held his hand to his head to prevent blood from seeping into his face. It colored bright red on his white skin and seemed to come from a wound on his head. It didn’t seem like a very serious injury, but his albinism made it stand out much more than usual.

“Battle scars,” Salu said in an amused way.

“No, I hit my head. I… I tripped over a loose access panel on the floor and hit the bulkhead. Don’t tell Weyan, okay?”

“Three words. Doctor patient confidentiality. Moa, can you handle this one?”

“Sure.”

Moa smiled, the trace of a sparkle returning to her eyes. Hopping off the bed, she gestured Thylun to sit down on the other one.

“I’ll get the tissue regenerator.”

***

Raeth felt the ship drop back to normal space in a smooth fashion as the autopilot reduced speed at the jump point. Their current location was in the interstellar medium between the Bynali- and Solbrecht systems, at a distance from the Solbrecht system reachable with a single quantum jump. It took the computer a few ticks to get a lock. According to Majih it should be a simple procedure, but he was still in direct contact with the bridge. This was their first time after all.

“Destination locked in.”

“At your discretion, sirs?” Le’tan asked both his _Ginjha_ and the chief engineer.

“Majih?”

“We should be able to make the jump. We’ll be on reserve power for about half a cycle but there’s nothing we can do about that. The singularity needs to regenerate back to full power.”

“Do it.”

With a pair of taps, Le’tan confirmed the order. Taking a slight breath, Raeth instinctively braced himself. Several members of the crew had witnessed the effects of a quantum jump numerous times, he himself included. It was not an uncommonly used mode of travel for ships equipped with a linear quantum drive. The sound the drive made when powering up was different. It increased in pitch until a certain frequency, then remained steady for a few ticks.

It was as if the ship was swallowed by a bright flash that lasted for less than a tick. The quantum drive’s sound dissipated with a deep and powerful discharge. The changed vista ahead of them was the only noticeable effect for those inside, but the ship had crossed a distance close to two dozen lightyears. Right before them, the blue- and green marble of the planet Solbrecht filled a major part of the viewport. Although quantum jumps could be performed with pinpoint precision, considering the vast distances between places of interest, they had ignored local legislation with this one. This became evident as their sudden arrival was noticed immediately by the authorities.

“Sir, we’re being hailed. Solbrechtian Navy police cutter,” Jetreycka said with a worried look on her face.

“Hope you don’t get us arrested with this one, Syrran,” Raeth joked. “Estimated time until the arrival of the enemy fleet?”

“About 32 millicycles. Sir, they’re very insistent.”

“Put ‘em on.”

The captain of the patrol ship was a native Solbrechtian himself. Not that this surprised Raeth as most minor species that settled the planet had their own spacefaring organizations although some of them did serve in the small defense force tasked with patrolling and guarding the Solbrecht system.

Large, hulking, with four strong arms and a rhino-like appearance, they were not to be trifled with and this one was no exception. He seemed rather agitated by their sudden arrival and ignorance of protocol. Understandable, but given the approaching threat Raeth deemed it necessary to act fast.

“I’m Captain Gruhk. You are in violation of protocol. Prepare for inspection.”

His voice was but a low rumble and his nostrils flared in frustration.

“With all due respect, captain, there is no time. A fleet of--”

“Prepare to be boarded.”

“Check your long-range scanners. A hostile force is on approach. You need to prepare your defenses.”

“Is that a _threat_?” the Solbrechtian grunted, baring his teeth.

“No, they’ve come from Netherspace. Millions of innocents are gonna die if we do nothing.”

The Solbrechtian’s small cup-shaped ears perked up when he heard the word ‘Netherspace’. The rest of his gaunt gray face was a little slow to react, but the initial heated glare disappeared. It made place for something else but Raeth found it hard to judge if it was understanding or indifference. _A little slow-witted, aren’t we?_

“You are to hold your position. I’ll get your traffic control.”

“No, I don’t need traffic control. Get me your--”

Raeth heaved a sigh as he was confronted by a blank screen with the text ‘please hold’ below the Navy’s seal. He looked at Jirro. It was obvious his XO shared his frustration the way he grinded his teeth. It was fortunate that they didn’t lose too much time as their call was answered quicker than he expected.

The operator was human. An older man, judging by the streaks of gray in his hair. His face still looked youthful and despite not paying too much attention to whom he was talking too, he answered their call with a reserved smile. The Navy uniform was a simple black piece of attire without too many frills. A buttoned jacket with silver accents and matching pants in this case. Its style tended more toward the uniforms of the Earth Alliance. It looked different from what the Solbrechtian captain wore, more caused by the physical differences of the wearer than the difference in rank. This was not uncommon in mixed military organizations with individuals that did not even have the same number of limbs.

“This is control tower two. Where do you wish to land?”

“Forgive my bluntness but I need to talk to your superior. There’s been an occurrence of Netherspace, and its forces are on their way to this planet.”

The man looked at him, the expression on his face telling him that he did not fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation. His response was the one Raeth hoped for.

“I thought I heard something like that from higher up. We didn’t know what it was. I’m going to escalate. Standby.”

The next person in the chain was another Solbrechtian. Not as cranky as Gruhk but they weren’t the friendliest species to deal with. He snorted and spoke with the same rumbling voice as his subordinate.

“Explain.”

“You need to ready your defenses _now_.”

***

Twenty-five millicycles later the Navy’s defenses were on full alert. It wasn’t much. They were not equipped to fight a war or even a large-scale battle. Their small fleet consisted of about a dozen lightly armed patrol ships and three larger cruisers. They had a total of eight large mobile weapon platforms which were heavily armed and shielded. These were remote controlled, could take a beating and were designed as a defense against larger threats. In addition, there was the planet’s defense grid, composed of a network of smaller satellite laser cannons.

Their collective call for help had not gone unanswered. Many different species had settled the planet and Solbrecht was one of the largest trading hubs in the quadrant. Several militaries used the planet as a resupply cache, for restocking food and medical supplies as well as having their own docking facilities. The few battle-ready ships in the system had joined their force and every few millicycles, another ship that happened to be close enough to pick up their distress signal entered the system. With drives and methods of propulsion getting faster and faster, even large distances could be crossed in smaller timeframes. Days became cycles, and cycles became millicycles as technology continued to advance. But it still took time. Time they didn’t have.

“It’s not much, but it’ll have to do,” Raeth said as Trezka gave him the latest update on the current size of the defense fleet.

“Majih, are we back up to full power yet?”

“Almost, sir. She’s purring. Give it few more millicycles.”

The largest ship they had within their ranks was an Earth Alliance destroyer. Smaller than the _Devonshire_ , it was also an older design but according to the database recently refitted with newer weapon systems to extend hull life. Also within the ranks was one of their sister ships. A second _Myr’loa_ class starship arrived a mere two millicycles before the ETA of the hostile force. It didn’t take long before Jetreycka received their hail.

“As’bit, House of Ozu. Not a moment too soon, I see.”

The first thing Raeth noticed was that the other _Ginjha_ was a mixture of two and possibly three races. What showed the most were traits of his own race, but the ice blue eyes did not occur naturally among Sogowans and his ears were much pointier too, like thin almonds. He seemed in a much better mood than Worynn though.

“Raeth, House of Meztar. Good of you to join us.”

“Any word on reinforcements?”

Raeth looked at Jetreycka but she shook her head.

“Little gets through that jamming field. We can barely pick up the ships that are in pursuit but the _Canai’yu_ and _Shenglynn_ are not among them.”

“They took a beating during our first battle,” Raeth explained. “Hard to tell if they’re able to get here and make a difference.”

As’bit flattened an ear and crossed his muscular arms.

“The _Canai’yu_? You’ve met Worynn?”

“I’ve had the pleasure.”

“A tough one. She’ll get here, trust me.”

As’bit sounded sure of himself. Worynn was a battle-hardened veteran but her ship had taken a considerable amount of damage. She had promised to get command to send as many ships as possible. _We have to delay as long as possible._

“Sir, contact!”

With their defenses spread out across a large area, ships and weapon platforms forming a curved grid pattern, they had formed an effective barrier against the approaching enemy force. It forced them to slow down to reenter normal space so they could not reach the planet with a direct course.

The Nether ships appeared with a series of flashes. The nightmarish appearance of the captured hulls glowed red against the backdrop of interstellar space. They did manage to destroy a sizable chuck of their force but not without casualties. They were still numerous, rivaling their numbers, and with their systems upgraded by the other realm posing an enormous threat.

In the middle of their formation, shielded by the disposable vessels, was the helix-shaped craft that behaved like a controller. A master of slaves. It made itself a prime target but during the last battle it proved itself as very difficult to destroy.

“That’s one ugly son of a…”

Trezka’s voice trailed off as she tapped her console to put the tactical situation into perspective on one of the secondary viewers. Raeth felt his claws unsheathe instinctively as his nervousness grew. The Solbrechtian captain that had taken command of the fleet addressed them over the comm.

“This is Vr’anuk to all ships. Long-range attack! Fire all weapons!”

The torrent of mental images hit them like a whiplash. As he gasped for breath, Raeth heard the other members of his crew do the same as the flood of visions clouded his mind, blinding him from his real environment. With a groan he reached for his head, unable to block the alien invasion of his mind, his very being. The howl of tormented souls. Images of Nether victims walking like zombies over the barren surface of a destroyed world. Ashes falling from the sky above a ruined city.

The images flashed as if before his eyes but were so vivid it felt like they were his own memories. Between the alternating images, depicting a gruesome faith for victims and worlds under the influence of this malevolent force, a hellish face became visible. He heard a voice speaking to him in a language he could not understand. It did not take along for the face to become the dominant image until it was the only thing he could see.

“Cut that out!” he yelled.

“It’s not the comm. It’s in our heads!” Jetreycka replied.

The creature, or whatever it was appeared humanoid. Four red eyes in two sets, no nose and no mouth in a bald oval head. The skin, if it had a physical body to begin with was as black as space itself, covered by the same red glowing veins as everything else touched by where it came from. A tall slender figure underneath formed its body. The arms were thin and with what looked like normal hands with only three digits. The legs, if it had any, were not visible. Spikey extensions, like the legs of a spider symmetrically protruded from the back, ending in what looked like razor-sharp three-pointed claws.

The rasping sound of its voice sent the chills up his spine. The longer he was forced to listen to it, with no way of blocking it out, the more it became interlaced with words he _did_ understand. Words in his own language. Until he listened to a fully translated version of the text.

“ _Your resistance is futile. Your weak forms will perish. Your body will serve, and your mind cease to exist._ ”

“Trezka… weapons!”

“I can’t see my console. Computer… override all weapon systems. Lock on to the largest target and fire!”

Although Raeth still couldn’t see anything other than the mental image of the creature, he could still verbally communicate with the crew. He could hear the sounds around him over the voice of the creature that only existed inside his mind.

The outcries of his crew as they fought against the hostile takeover of their minds. The drone of the pulse cannons as their rapid-fire vibrated through the ship. The pulses of torpedoes exiting the forward launch tubes. As they struck target, his vision returned in the same manner as waking up from a vivid dream, the image of the creature dissipating, fading into a memory.

The idea of automated firing was copied by the other ships. Space around the ship was filled with brightly colored beams in various colors. Missiles left light trails as they curved toward their targets. Torpedoes became miniature shooting stars, chasing each other in multiple salvos.

The crew heaved audible sighs of relief. Rubbing his temples, a mild headache being the leftover effect of the hostile communication method, he snorted.

“Jetreycka, ship-wide.”

“Yes, sir,” she grumbled, rubbing her eyes with one hand as she tapped her console.

“Raeth to crew. Is everyone all right?”

“We’re fine,” Azdar responded, agitation coating his voice. “Can we get control over our guns back?”

“You got it.”

“Sir, enemy fleet is returning fire. We gotta move!”

“Le’tan?”

“On the evasive.”

“Deploy blast shutters.”

The red beam weapons of the enemy fleet cut through the space between both fleets, adding to the dazzling display of colors. Shields flashed as the beams collided with them, the energy being either absorbed, deflected or resulting in violent explosions on contact. The counterattack also meant that they could no longer sit still.

The fleet spread out as their opponents did the same, covering Solbrecht to prevent any ship or projectiles from getting through. With the larger vessels continuing their long-range bombardment, the smaller ships followed the same tactic as before, picking off targets of opportunity. Many ships did not have the weapons and protection to match the situation and could not throw themselves into the fight like true warships could.

“Sir, that thing’s building up energy,” Trezka said.

“On screen.”

With Le’tan making his attack runs on the right flank with Syrran’s guidance, Trezka brought up a magnified view of the spiral-shaped Nether ship. Had there not been any sign of an energy build-up last time, a faint red glow that became brighter and brighter became visible in the cylindrical space between the lines of its hull structure.

“It’s gotta be some kind of weapon,” Jirro growled.

Without any further warning, a massive coherent bundle of crackling energy discharged with a bright flash out of the front of the vessel which acted like the barrel of a cannon. It crossed the distance to their ranks within a fraction of a tick. A Solbrechtian patrol ship that happened to be in its way attempted to evade but was grazed by the weapon’s destructive power. An explosion at its port side sent it drifting in the other direction.

The actual target was one of the mobile weapon platforms scattered between their forces. Its powerful shields collapsed under the pressure. The enormous amount of volatile energy vaporized the hull. The reactor exploded with a bright flash and what little debris was left scattered in all directions. They were unmanned but the shock he felt was visible on the faces of his crew as they realized that a single shot was enough to destroy one of their strongest assets. It also made it even more apparent that they could not permit that ship from firing on the planet surface.

“Vr’anuk to fleet. Concentrate your fire! I want that thing taken out!”

“Sir, new ships entering the system from behind the enemy fleet,” Jetreycka exclaimed. “It’s the _Devonshire_ , and several others! They’re letting us know that they’ve joined the battle.”

A faint smile crept along Raeth’s face. This was what they had been stalling for. Buying time for more ships to come to their aid. They had them boxed in between two fronts. With the _Devonshire_ ’s task force opening fire from behind, the enemy was forced to divide their attention. With their aft sections vulnerable, they managed to destroy several ships without giving them the chance to redirect their frontal weapons arrays.

“It’s preparing to fire again.”


	11. Battle of Solbrecht

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 11 Battle of Solbrecht

“What’s with these shields and hulls?” Thylun exclaimed, after unleashing a barrage of continuous fire from his gun that lasted for several ticks. The Fauldran cruiser’s upgraded shields _did_ buckle under the attack and the bolts _did_ hammer the hull underneath but he expected more. “They’re fresh out of fighters too. I got to twenty-two kills, including the last battle.”

“Still ahead one,” Weyan quipped, his voice a little strained as he unleashed a long series of shots himself.

“No way!”

Weyan laughed. They now met with the difficulty of attacking larger ships which were strengthened up by the forces of the Nether. And they were not acting like sitting ducks. The ship trembled under a series of combined impacts, each one louder and more violent than the previous as three enemy vessels targeted the _Myr’loa_ at the same time. Sparks showered down from the ceiling with the effect of fireworks. Lights and consoles flickered during a temporary loss of power. Thylun coughed as a thin layer of smoke filled the corridor, bringing the stench of burned circuitry with it.

“Combined attack! Focus on one target at a time!” Azdar yelled.

“My controls feel sluggish!” Masai growled. “Sticks are not responding.”

“Looks like that thing’s firing again!”

It was as if time itself slowed down after Weyan’s yell to bring it to their attention. Thylun had his gaze fixed on the screen in front of him, refocusing the gun’s targeting system on the object in question. The release of energy initiated with a powerful flash as the weapon discharged. The camera angle betrayed that the weapon was directed at something close to their position.

The ship vibrated as the blast of energy streaked past their hull at a distance too close for comfort. What followed was a deafening bang, the screeching of metal, a powerful and sudden rush of air tugging at his body in the direction of the mess hall, past the closed doors of crew quarters. The shout, a cry for help that was even audible against the noise of escaping atmosphere, was what seemed to light a fire under his seat.

A tick later he was on his clawed feet and running in the direction the air escaped to. With nothing else on his mind than helping the owner of the voice, he dashed toward the mess hall. There was no way for him to expect or brace against the second jolt that followed. The sudden movement when a blast of weapons fire impacted the starboard hull smacked him against the bulkhead, leg first, shoulder second, and finally his head.

Confused by the throbbing pain, Thylun didn’t know if he blacked out or if the lights failed completely but it could’ve been a combination of the two. Even his bionic eye failed to register input, the connection to his brain disrupted by what he assumed was a mild concussion. Slumped against the bulkhead, he used it as guidance to push himself back up. Unable to see anything, except for the twinkles dancing in what should have been his field of vision, he groaned.

He was left with a deaf feeling in his sensitive ears when the noise of escaping air stopped with the slam of a bulkhead door. He heard the dull sound of thundering footsteps coming from the direction he was heading to. There was a short frightened cry when another body tumbled into him, knocking him backwards and causing him to lose his balance.

He hit the deck back first and could not prevent his head from receiving another blow as it hit the hard metal surface. Still unable to see much of anything, he heard the agonizing roar out of his own mouth as he laid motionless on the cold floor. Squeezing his eyes shut, he fought against the dizziness. He laid like that for a couple of ticks, biting against the pain, a feeling of heaviness pushing back against his chest as he replaced the air in his lungs.

The object on top of him was another head judging by the sound of exerted breathing nearby. When the lights came back on someone pushed him- or herself up, the weight of the person’s head removing itself from his chest. When he opened his eyes, the object hovering above him was blurry. Blinking in an attempt to regain focus and reset his bionic eye, he realized he was looking into the eyes of Nami. The Fjetanha girl stared back at him, the tip of her beak only a hand width away from his, her breath blowing into his face. A hint of shock disturbed her fine facial features.

“ _Uiisa_ ,” she said, her voice close to a whisper.

His face twisted in agony as he made a rumbling sound deep in his throat.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. But this is the third time I hit my head today.”

He felt the vibrations under his back as impacts still hammered on the ship’s shields. His one real eye stung with each flicker of the lights. Their fall had tangled his and Nami’s legs together like a freakish pretzel. Another pair of footsteps sounded from the direction of his feet. It turned out to be Norgu, who tried to step around the jumbled mess they had formed in the middle of the corridor and stuck out his hand.

“Need help?”

Nami took his hand and liberated herself from her uncomfortable position on top of him. Throwing her long braid back she heaved a sigh.

“Can you stand?” she asked.

“I think… I can.”

With Norgu’s help she pulled him back on his feet. Dizzy as he was, he tried to stand but they had to support him soon after that to prevent him from falling. His stomach twisting by a sudden wave of nausea. He felt like the whole ship spun around him. On top of that, the deck under his feet still trembled as minor impacts chipped away at the ship’s shields.

“I need my gunner back!” Azdar yelled from the other end of the corridor.

“I’m… coming.”

Nami shook her head.

“You won’t even hit the bright side of a moon like this. I’ll get it.”

Before finishing her sentence, she stepped past them to answer Azdar’s call. Balancing on his thickly built legs, Norgu looked at him with deep dark brown eyes, capable of adding a surprising amount of kindness to his rugged angular face. His slightly agape mouth revealed his much sharper than average Logri teeth, but his voice sounded caring when he offered to escort him to sickbay.

“ _Hyami_ , I think I’d better do that.”

With careful steps, supporting his head, he walked back to the gunnery deck. He passed Nami, who had already made herself more than comfortable in his seat and watched the automatic doors of sickbay open on his approach.

“Doc, guess who’s back.”

***

“Hull breach, deck two! Emergency force field not responding,” Trezka growled. “Power is fluctuating.”

“Can you seal off that section?” Raeth asked.

“There’re two people inside. I need them to get out first.” She snorted. “Shields are buckling.”

“Le’tan, more distance.”

They had become the target of several enemy ships, repeated hits draining their shields. Another shot by the enemy command ship destroyed a weapon platform close to their position. Its debris, propelled by the explosion, collided with their weakened shields, passing through and damaging the hull.

They had managed to destroy a good portion of the enemy fleet, the extra reinforcements being more than welcome, but not without taking significant damage to their own forces. Several ships were forced into retreat. Among them were escape pods of vessels that pulled back too late or couldn’t escape destruction. They were replaced on the other side of the battlefield by new ships arriving, either from their previous encounter or joining in after receiving their call for help.

Also joining the fight shortly after the _Devonshire_ arrived was Ayko’s _Tsun’rhaa_ , with two more Akrennian ships. Their larger vessel had taken a lot of damage during the first battle, but it had been replaced by a smaller and faster destroyer-class ship that unloaded its impressive forward weapons array into an enemy ship and finishing it with a single bombardment run.

With Solbrecht being a home for so many different species, they had managed to bring together one of the largest mixed fleets in galactic history. Everyone knew what was at stake. Every loss, every shot fired increased their determination to win.

“They’re out! Bulkhead door closed. Force field engaged.”

“Did we lose anyone?” Raeth asked, his hearts pounding like hammers as he awaited Trezka’s response. It lasted for less than two ticks, but he still heaved a sigh of relief when she shook her head.

“No losses.”

“Did we do any damage to that thing at all?” he said, nodding toward the main viewer.

The helix-shaped monstrosity charged itself up for another shot. The enemy force had split into two fronts and the portion of their fleet facing Solbrecht began pushing the defenders back. Ships scattered from the most likely target location as it prepared to fire.

“Their shields have weakened but they’re sacrificing their own ships to defend it. We can barely get any shots through.”

The ship fired again. Nobody expected what it did next. Its prime target seemed to be another weapon platform. As the massive beam struck its shields, the vessel used whatever thrusters it had to change its angle. Streaking across space like a giant searchlight, the bundle of energy destroyed the platform and caused massive damage to any ships in its path. Unlucky ships that had already been damaged were vaporized.

“Vr’anuk to fleet. We just lost another platform! We’ve taken damage ourselves and have to retreat. We have to take out that ship.”

Trezka cursed.

“By _Kirliya_ , they took out three ships with one shot! Severe damage to others.” She paused, checking her readings. “And they’re charging up again!”

“No, energy signature’s different,” Jetreycka interrupted. “I’m detecting a massive increase in neutrino emissions.”

“They’re bringing in reinforcements!” Jirro growled.

Again, he was right. Not long thereafter the energy signatures of multiple ruptures appeared between the shrunken enemy fleet. New ships emerged. Fighters, frigates, passenger liners, even larger ships, once the property of many different organizations, all swallowed and spit back out by Netherspace.

Despite the efforts of the defending forces to focus their attacks on the ruptures to destabilize them, they could not prevent many of them from spitting out more ships. The fighters formed squadrons that began their attack immediately. The larger vessels reinforced the two fronts that had formed, pushing them back further and further.

With Le’tan straining the engines to create more distance between them and the fleet of enemy ships that grew and expanded like a bubble, the gunners redoubled their efforts as a wave of small craft chased them, stinging them with smaller versions of the red beam weapons.

“This is the _Atlanta_! We’re venting atmosphere from multiple breaches. We’re pulling ba--”

The emergency transmission crackled and ended in static. With one of the secondary viewers focused on the allied ship, they watched a series of explosions rip through her port side. With the loss of attitude control thrusters, the ECA frigate drifted away from the battle, surrounded by expelled material from her own hull.

The _Myr’loa_ was jolted once again by a blast into her weakened shields. Lights flickered. Raeth covered his face with his arm as bursts of sparks rained down at various places across the ceiling. He coughed as a thin haze of acrid smoke entered his lungs before the ventilation system had the change to suck it away.

“I’ve lost control of the aft starboard engine,” Le’tan said, raising his calm voice to the level of a shout for the first time since the battle started.

“Starboard shields are gone!” Trezka added. “We can’t take direct shots to the hull like that. I know how it sounds but my advice is to pull back before they blow us to dust.”

Watching the battle swing out of their favor, Raeth bit his teeth, racking his brains. He recalled how he had been in tough situations before, with lives at stake. He had sworn an oath to protect the lives of his crew. But as a crew, part of even bigger organization, they were obligated to protect the lives of the citizens of Solbrecht.

“Sir, what’re your orders?”

A flash of memories flooded his mind. Highschool on Solbrecht with its cultural conflicts. The afterschool adventures with friends around town and in the forest surrounding city where he grew up. The look in the eyes of his parents on the day he left home, wearing the red uniform for the first time, despite his father having his objections. The warm dampness on his sister’s face when she had her arms wrapped around his neck on that same day. _There’s no point in fighting without weapons._ Another hit to the weakened shields, reminded him that he had to decide now. _What to do? Anything we can use to our advantage? Can we stall for more time? What difference would that make?_

“Raeth!” Jirro’s voice barked in his right ear.

“Back us off! Open a channel to the fleet.”

“You’re on!”

“This is Raeth, House of Meztar. We’ve taken too much damage and are pulling back. We need to regroup.”

The command ship of the Nether forces still acted like a giant cannon. Because of its symmetrical design it could also fire backwards. Another one of its shots blasted between its own forces in the other direction, sweeping across space, damaging and destroying multiple ships in a row. In the meantime, it continued to press forward, dividing their front as it speared through their defensive formation.

“This is Vr’anuk. Do not let them fire on the planet! My assets are at stake!”

 _Typical. No wonder Zechaat is such a dump._ The capital city formed a sharp contrast with the rest of the planet’s civilian population centers. The Solbrechtians had a say in everything going on in and around the city and it showed. They cared very little about anything but themselves. What mattered to them was making a profit on the galactic trade market. The only thing that kept them from turning the entire planet into a polluting business center was the other majority on the planet.

That majority happened to be the Mantrin population that had settled the world at a time where the planet’s natives were still using sticks and throwing stones at each other. None of that mattered right now. They were civilians all the same and the only thing standing in the way of destruction was their fleet, thrown together in the middle of a chaotic situation. That fleet now began to fall apart.

Raeth felt his own desperation grow. The feeling clamped both his hearts like a pair of iron fists. _C’mon, think!_ The planet’s defense grid was designed to shoot down asteroids and might do some damage to small craft but was useless against the rest of their ships. In addition, their limited range would allow the enemy’s devastating weapon to enter firing range of the planet. He figured this was already the case, but the remaining weapon platforms blocked direct firing on Solbrecht’s surface, and they were running out of them.

“Sir, more contacts.”

A familiar voice barked over the comm.

“This is Worynn, House of Yttra! Sorry we’re late. Now let’s kick ‘em back to where they came from!”

Although the _Canai’yu_ had taken significant damage in their last encounter, her crew had managed to patch her up to the best of their abilities. With her shields regenerated, her _Ginjha_ was more than determined to take revenge. To Raeth’s surprise, she had also managed to use her loud bark to rally others.

The Earth Alliance carrier _Amsterdam_ was among them, launching her fighters in unison with the Imperial carrier that had joined their ranks during the last battle. Several smaller ECA ships joined the fight, as well as ships from the militaries of D’Amara, Fauldro, Vusstra, Rutan and more.

Worynn’s battleship dove into the enemy’s flank, accompanied side-by-side by another _Tyr’derra_ class, turrets blasting in all directions. Not giving them any time to respond and regroup, the impressive omni-directional barrage vaporized ships all around them. But what they hadn’t accounted for was the unexpected fast reaction by the command ship. Charged up for another shot, it spun around its central axis with surprising speed and discharged its energy into the belly of the _Canai’yu’s_ twin.

The blast was powerful enough to knock the enormous ship of course. Her array of rear-mounted fusion engines sputtered, then died. The volatile energy had blown a deep, red-glowing crater into her ventral side, atmosphere, white-hot debris and crew being ejected into space.

Jirro roared and his reaction was copied by all other members of the crew, Raeth himself included. It boiled inside his chest cavity, spreading to the very tips of his body like a fever. Sheathing and unsheathing his claws he let out his anger with a loud grunt, taking slow breaths as he tried his best to restrain himself. The _Myr’loa_ was too damaged for direct attacks and with their forces being pushed ever closer to Solbrecht, there was nothing they could do but offer fire support from the second line.

“Looks like the humans got a new weapon,” Trezka said, swiping the view from her console to the secondary viewer.

Six smaller craft that blasted out of the _Amsterdam_ ’s launch bays had a different design from their standard issue fighters. They were larger too, several extensions mounted in various places adding to their bulk. Forced to fight from a distance due to the damage taken, the crew watched as the unknown fighters flew straight at the enemy fleet at breathtaking speed using powerful thrusters.

“What are those things?” Syrran said out loud as he analyzed their flight path.

The extensions mounted on their hulls turned out to be missile pods, unleashing a flurry of missiles as they broke formation and split in all directions. The missiles were tipped with high-yield warheads, triggering massive explosions on impact, crippling enemy ships. This made them easy targets for the weakened allied fleet that had shifted to a defensive stance. Had the fighters been moving in a smooth curved trajectory on approach, their path changed to a series of rapid erratic movements.

“They’re… changing form,” Trezka said, like she had trouble believing her own eyes.

After depleting their stores of missiles, the fighters ejected the empty pods, then changed from their current form into a kind of humanoid shape, unleashing a fury of destruction with particle beam cannons mounted in the arms and on the shoulders. Circling around enemy ships, the thrusters mounted at various places along the body helped them to evade hostile fire, target weak spots and finish off targets with mind-boggling efficiency.

As the new weapons wreaked havoc on the Nether forces, the helix-shaped ship resumed its previous course. Due to a few well-fired shots, it had taken hull damage, but not enough to stop it. Its sudden breakoff from the main force, shielded by a group of Nether-converted ships caught the attention of everyone. Communication channels flooded with outcries and orders.

“They’re gonna attack the planet!” Trezka yelled above the clamoring.

Jetreycka cut off the sound as it wasn’t very helpful. They had to find a way to destroy it now.

“Sir,” she said. “We’re receiving a transmission from the _Canai’yu_ , directed at all Imperial ships.”

“This is Worynn.” It was a visual transmission. Worynn stood on the bridge of her ship, in front of her seat, standing strong as ever, despite the bleeding gash that marred the side of her face. “I’m setting the _Canai’yu_ on a ramming course. I’m counting on you all to catch our escape pods. _Nas ohvi Kirliya deh unar!_ ”

The transmission ended. Raeth’s response was immediate.

“Get a visual on her ship,” he ordered. “Lay in a pursuit course. Standby on tractor beams and get ready to open the cargo bays.”

The _Canai’yu_ had changed its heading and followed a straight course toward the position of the vessel threatening the inhabitants of Solbrecht. With her angular hull and the strength of her shields directed forward, she became the biggest battering ram in the known galaxy.

“Hail the _Canai’yu_.”

Worynn sat in her command chair, steering her mighty starship using the miniature joysticks in the armrests. The last members of her crew scuttled off the bridge in the back, carrying out her orders to abandon ship. The angle at which her image was displayed indicated she had answered the call on a secondary viewer and her eyes were focused on the main one which she used for navigation. She grunted.

“Raeth, whaddya want?”

“You gotta make sure you get off that ship in time. We’ll catch your pod.”

“Catch the others. I gotta make sure I hit ‘em good.”

“Worynn you--”

“Raeth! She’s preparing to fire on the planet!”

She looked at him with a piercing yellow gaze. Her surroundings trembled under the impacts on her ship’s shields.

“You just made _Ginjha_. You know the kinds of decisions we’re forced to make. You have kids. I have family too. They’re down there, on that planet, with millions of others.”

Feeling frustrated by the thought of losing a decorated and experienced starship commander, Raeth clenched his teeth, baring them as he pulled with his upper lip.

“Now go catch those pods. The lives of my crew are at stake!”

“Le’tan!”

“On it, sir.”

“It felt good to fight alongside ya,” she said, curving the edges of her beak-like mouth into something that resembled a smile. “So long.”

She cut off the transmission. One-by-one, the _Canai’yu_ ’s escape pods launched and sped away from the vessel as her crew abandoned ship. Raeth had heard the heroic tales of entire crews going down with their ships in a blaze of glory, but he also knew that few of them were true.

It made no sense for a well-trained crew, from a large or a small ship, to sacrifice themselves for a note in the history scrolls. It meant sacrificing countless cycles of training and difficult to replace experience, without any kind of necessity.

Worynn’s ship also launched all of her shuttles and the few fighters of her small complement left onboard. They were faster and nimbler than escape pods and could escape the battlefield on their own. Together with _As’bit_ ’s ship, they began collecting the escape pods using the cargo bays tractor beams.

“What courage. She’s really doin’ it,” Trezka said, staring at the screen in disbelief.

Under heavy fire and escorted to its target by various other ships until the last possible moment, the _Canai’yu_ looked like one of the ships from those fabled tales of glory. The giant Nether ship charged up for a direct shot at Solbrecht’s surface, converted ships sacrificing themselves around her as the defending force made a last attempt at destroying her.

The planetary defense grid’s beams were like mosquito bites, having a negligible effect on their front shields. Coming up from behind like angry wasps, with far greater firepower, the transformable fighters of the Earth forces punched a hole ahead of the _Canai’yu,_ allowing the battered ship to plunge through to the core of their formation like an unstoppable angry rhino.

Bashing any ships in her way aside with her sheer size and mass, the collisions tearing her hull apart, the cannons on her dorsal side that still functioned fired clear shots at weakening shields. The Nether ship glowed with energy. It pulsated between the rings of its helix-shaped hull. Its weapon spikes concentrated their fire on the _Canai’yu_. The devastating weapon fired.

The Imperial battleship dove into the aft section, throwing off its aim, the beam bouncing off Solbrecht’s atmosphere as it swept over the face of the planet without focus. Explosions tore the _Canai’yu_ apart as she penetrated the rings of the helix. The rings collapsed, together with the volatile energy causing a devastating chain reaction.

Raeth let out a roar, reaching for his head with both hands, feeling like it was spitting apart. In a flash he saw the creature again, surrounded by an inferno. Judging by the echoes of his crew, they saw the exact same thing. With a series of spine-chilling shrieks, it perished, then disappeared from his mind’s eye.

“Can’t these things communicate like normal people do,” Syrran grumbled, flattening his ears as he rubbed his head.

“Sir, their ships.”

Trezka didn’t need to explain further. All over the battlefield, the remaining enemy ships’ power signatures flickered and faded. The red vein-like patterns on their hulls dimmed. Without the dark energies to power them, they turned into dead husks, drifting in space on whatever momentum they had. To prevent them from crashing down onto Solbrecht’s surface, the remains that drifted into the planet’s direction were vaporized by the defending force before they could touch the atmosphere.

“Anything from Worynn?” Raeth asked, looking at Jetreycka.

“Scanning… I’m detecting a faint life sign between the debris.”

“It’s an escape pod!” Trezka said, unable to contain her excitement. “It’s damaged. Only one thruster. It’s leaking atmosphere.”

“Get it! I’ll be down in the cargo bay. Le’tan, you have the bridge. Jirro?”

His XO responded with a nod and a grunt.

“Raeth to Salu. If you’re not already down there, step on it.”

***

With a sigh of relief, Nami let go of the controls as she leaned back in the gunner seat. She heard similar reactions around her. She had some experience with starship weapons, but it still felt a whole lot different from firing a rifle or blaster.

“ _Not a bad score_ ,” she thought as she looked at her kill count.

The mild headache from her vision of the Nether creature made her doubt if she started off with 22 or 23. The larger ships were much harder to kill, yet she was a little proud of her 37 in total.

“Is it over?” Masai asked, rubbing her head.

She groaned as she hunched her muscular shoulders and rolled her wrists.

“I could do without the headache,” Azdar growled.

“Whoop! I got forty-four,” Weyan bragged.

The headache couldn’t spoil his fun. He was the first to get up, stretching his back, rising on his enormous legs to place his hands flat on the ceiling. Nami let out a laugh. One of the spotted Mantrin’s ears swiveled in her direction. Lowering to his normal height, balancing on his legs, he turned toward her, a grin plastered on his face.

“So, how’s your score?”

She noticed she had the attention of all three gunners now.

“Thirty-seven.”

“Not bad. Do we even want Thy back?”

She chuckled.

“I’m sure he’s a better shot with this than I am. I still prefer a gun I can hold in my hands. Hope he’s okay though.”

“He’ll be fine. I’m gonna look him up.”

Weyan left with a flick of his tail, heading in the direction of sickbay. Nami stood up, rolling the tension out of her shoulders and neck. Stretching her back she let out a soft groan.

“Well, if I’m no longer needed. I’m gonna check my room. See if everything survived.”

Azdar approved with a light grunt. As she walked back in the direction of the mess hall, from which the airlock door was still closed, she stopped in front of the quarters she shared with Moa and touched the door controls to let her in.

The lights turned on with a mild flicker, revealing a room that wasn’t too much of a mess. Not that she expected it. Most items such as the beds, table and floor pillows were secured to the floor using various methods. Therefore, she wasn’t surprised to find the pillow of her bed on the floor but only because she pulled it loose from its fasteners and hadn’t made up the bed after her powernap. Moa’s bed looked like it hadn’t been slept in yet.

It wasn’t what she was here for. She was here to check if her personal belongings were intact to put her mind at ease. Picking up the pillow, she tossed it on the bed as she made her way to the storage space in the back of the room. She still experienced a moment of relief as she found her most prized possession, standing in its protective case and secured to the wall with a pair of straps, between several smaller items, some unique to her Fjetanha race’s subculture.

A longbow, more than six feet in length, made by her own hands and skills. It had taken her more than a solar cycle, lengthy lessons and two failed attempts to craft it. The transparent lid of the case allowed her to inspect the tribal weapon without opening it. Its condition was pristine, because of the way she kept and treated it. Touching her hand to the lid, recalling the feel of the materials, the weight of the weapon as she handled it, and the smell of the wood during its construction, she smiled.

“ _Hyami_.”

***

Weyan entered sickbay, a little surprised to find his best friend on his back on one of the beds. He wasn’t used to Thylun losing his spirit. That was something they used to have in common. Despite that he approached him in a joyful way in an attempt to lift his mood, making sure the doors behind him were closed before saying anything.

“You lucky bastard.”

Thylun had seen him coming, lifting his aching head for a tick, then laid back down with an exasperated sigh. His one leg was left dangling over the edge of the bed, his claws scratching the floor as he moved his foot. His vital signs were displayed on the monitors near the head end. The ceiling lights were dimmed to lower than usual levels, so they did not aggravate his headache.

“Wey, my head really hurts. I’ve hit it too many times today already and that screeching thing was the absolute worst.”

Weyan shook his head, unable to suppress his sniggering.

“Don’t think I didn’t see what happened down in that corridor.”

“What’re you talking about, man?”

“Don’t deny it. She was right on top of you. So, how was it?” Thylun sighed again, rolling his eyes. Weyan was having too much fun. “Come o-o-on,” he pushed.

“I eh… Well, she smelled kinda nice.”

Weyan crossed his arms, flattening an ear in disbelief.

“She smelled nice? Are you kiddin’ me?”

“Wey, leave me alone, please. My head hurts. Doc says I got a mild concussion. He’s gone down below for emergency treatment. I had to stay here until he gets back.”

Making a mocking sound with his lips, Weyan shook his head. Instead of continuing to tease his friend, he became serious, pocketing any jokes he had come up with in the meantime. He had a mild headache too and that was without hitting it against metal, so it had to be much worse for Thylun.

“You know I’m just screwing with ya, right?”

“Hmm.”

“You get better. I’ll go down below. I’m sure they can use an extra pair of hands.”


	12. Until We Meet Again

**Imperial Guard – Pilot Episode – 001 Darkening Sky**

# Chapter 12 Until We Meet Again

When Raeth and Jirro arrived on deck four, they were confronted with the results of escape pod fishing. In the aftermath of one of the biggest battles fought over Solbrecht in the planet’s history, the participants came together to pick up the pieces, take care of the wounded and mourn the dead.

The ship had two cargo bays and because the only load they carried with them were spare parts and additional rations, the tractor beam systems had filled up the remaining space with as many escape vehicles as possible. In the haste to get off their ship, some of the occupants had suffered minor injuries. Despite that, Salu and Moa had their hands full to treat the scratches, bumps, bruises but no one seemed to be in a life-threatening situation.

The _Canai’yu_ ’s crewmembers had created some kind of orderly system. As Salu examined the more serious injuries, such as burns that were caused by chemical substances, Moa helped those that could treat themselves with tissue regenerators. With everything under control, or so it seemed, Raeth went looking for one survivor in particular. He found her last in line, leading up to Salu, letting every single member of her crew go ahead of her while clenching her teeth. Worynn still placed a fist on her chest to answer his and Jirro’s salute with one of her own, forcing a smirk.

“I owe you one, Raeth,” she said, coughing in the sleeve of her uniform.

Tiny droplets flew over her elbow and her voice sounded rather hoarse, having lost much of its strength. She seemed to have trouble standing on her left leg which was understandable given the condition it was in. One of her toes was bleeding, leaving her foot standing in a small pool of red. The leg itself was burned, the fabric of her pants charred around the lower and middle leg, molten and fused with her skin. Raeth remembered that humans had an after-death concept called ‘hell’ and she looked like she had gone through it to get here, and with success.

“We all owe _you_ one, Worynn.”

“Argh, could’ve been you. Could’ve been anyone. Someone had to do it.”

She coughed again, causing her to bend over.

“Got lucky you guys were fast. Oxygen tanks of my pod got hit. I could barely breathe when I hit the deck.”

“You need treatment,” Jirro said. “Now.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She was about to protest when another coughing fit came over her. The crewmember in front of her turned around and grabbed her arm as she threatened to lose her balance. When Salu noticed this, he signaled Moa. The Fjetanha girl first made sure that everyone around her could treat their mild injuries on their own. She then pushed the hover stretcher toward Worynn, everyone in her direct path clearing the way despite the crowdedness.

Supported by her officer, as she seemed to lose her strength, Worynn laid down her injured body on the stretcher. Gratitude showed itself on her pointy, hardened face as they helped her get her legs up. In a moment of utmost respect, all attendees placed their fists on the left side of their chest. Raeth, who stood next to the stretcher, gave her a nod. Worynn swallowed. Her yellow eyes glittered moist.

“Oh, knock it off! You’re getting me all mushy,” she said with a scratchy voice.

“I’ll help you,” one of her crewmen said to Moa. He was a Sogowan male who only had a small scratch on his cheek. “I’m qualified as a medic.”

“Salu, I’m gonna take her to sickbay.”

“I have faith in you, Moa. Treat her well.”

She nodded, pushing the stretcher toward the cargo bay’s entrance, accompanied by Worynn’s officer. Worynn’s crew kept their salute intact until she was out of sight.

“Why didn’t she say she was gonna make it out of there?” Jirro asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Raeth smiled.

“Because she didn’t know for sure.”

***

The crew of the _Myr’loa_ provided aid to anyone in need, even though they weren’t equipped to handle large numbers of wounded. The rescued crew of the _Canai’yu_ transferred to another Imperial starship after a short while. It was one of several that had been sent to play a support role during the cleanup and relief operation.

Other factions had sent their own ships and even the Solbrechtian Navy had sent their single hospital ship. The profit-hungry Solbrechtians, according to their own words, had called upon their so-called benevolence to treat everyone in need free of charge as a token of gratitude for their actions to save their planet. With many in need, their gracious offer was taken, and the ship was soon filled to capacity.

Baika wasn’t that much aware of it. She had something else to settle. A feeling she couldn’t shake even during the many precarious moments during the last couple of cycles. She had repeatedly asked the ship’s computer for Jacky’s location, and even set a reminder to notify her when she was in their shared quarters.

Guilt gnawed at her like a rodent on electrical cables as she played back the scenario in her head over and over again. _Should I have done this sooner? Would she still be angry?_ She asked the same questions again a couple of times when she stood in front of their quarters. She was unable to keep her fingers still as her hand hovered above the door controls. Her claws seemed confused on whether they should extend or retract. Feeling her hearts beating against the inside of her chest, she opened the door.

The lights were on, their brightness at a high enough level for comfortable reading of information on a screen. The arrangement of their quarters was the same as all the others and the left bed was occupied by the resting body of her roommate. Her large feet were placed flat on the sheet and she had pulled her legs a little closer to her body, so her thighs acted like a stand for her media device on which she flicked through the information on the see-through display with her finger. Judging by the earbud visible in her right ear, she was listening to her music.

At first, Baika thought she ignored her, her entering provoking a flick of Jacky’s ear but she didn’t look up. As she sat down on her own bed, she was the first to say something. Her bottom jaw quivered as she started with another apology.

“Jacky? I know you’re still mad at me. But I… I’m so sorry about what I said.”

Had she been looking at her roommate when she started, she had dropped her head and talked to the floor after her first sentence without realizing it.

“I didn’t mean to imply anything. It came out so wrong. I know you had a difficult time.”

As she thought about what to say next, she heard moving on the bed in front of her. The sound of a body shifting position. A pair of thumps on the floor. Claws scratching metal. She did not expect what happened next. She felt an additional weight next to her on the bed. When she looked up and to the side, two multicolored eyes stared into hers. All signs of anger had faded. In fact, the one true emotion that sprung out was remorse. She felt Jacky’s hand around hers, squeezing it.

“Baika, stop. I’m the one who should apologize. You already did.”

Not sure how to respond, she looked back, her mouth opening in indecision and then closing as she swallowed. Jacky turned her eyes down. She let go of her hand, wiping the corner of her eye with the back.

“I only realized you tried to apologize until later. I got so mad.”

“I didn’t mean it.”

“I know.” Jacky snorted. “I didn’t know who I was mad at. First it was you. Then all the memories came back. And then I was just mad at myself.” She heaved a small sigh. “I’ve said things that came out wrong a couple of times when I first had contact with others of our kind. That was on the academy. I remembered how I felt at those times.”

Edging a little closer, she draped a muscular arm over Baika’s tense shoulders. A little reserved at first, but when she noticed she didn’t mind she pulled her into a light hug. Baika let her. It felt comforting which was what she needed. As Jacky touched her soft beak to hers as a sign of apology, she returned it the same way.

“Must’ve been difficult during your first days. How did you even learn our language?”

Retracting her arm, shifting back to her original position, she smiled.

“Actually, I learned to speak the human tongue first. My parents spoke English. That’s their primary language. Sort of anyway. They have more, just like us. I learned to speak some of our languages using the ship’s database. Mostly _Saerinian_ and a bit of _Preidogian_. But I was taught mostly in English. It’s not that difficult. I can teach you.” Baika figured her face must have shown some discomfort as she quickly added, “okay, maybe some other time.”

“No, it’s okay. I can handle a few basics.”

Jacky smiled, her familiar enthusiasm growing like the last time they spoke about all things human that she grew up with.

“Okay, let’s start with _moiseh_. Humans usually say ‘hi’, or ‘hello’. The latter is a more formal way. Friends usually just say ‘hi’ when they greet each other. So I would say, hi Baika. It’s real easy. If you want to ask how the other person feels today, then you continue with ‘ _Ano hori deh?_ ’ which becomes…”

***

“My faith in you was not misplaced, Raeth. Many people owe you their thanks, even though they’ve never heard of you before.”

Nezvhan Rhaa Khyrzan was very pleased. His voice. His body language. The large battle-hardened Goureg was just a projection on the holographic display in his ready room, but the positive energy was almost tangible. The Mantrin who was his superior, sat on his floor pillow in his own work office, his exaggerated arms resting on his enormous thighs.

“I did my job, sir. To the best of my abilities. The rest of it was a combined effort. It was Worynn, from the House of Yttra, who ultimately prevented a planetary strike.”

Khyrzan made a sound that held the middle between a grunt and a chuckle.

“Worynn. She’s a special one. Refused promotion multiple times since it was offered to her. Said she would leave the Guard if punished with a desk job.” He sighed but could not hide his amusement. “We’re better off with a woman like that in the field anyway.”

“At least she can add another medal to her collection. We owe her. The humans sent us their thanks as well as the Solbrechtians. In fact, I just replied to my invitation from a human _Ginjha_ , or captain, to share drinks. I’ve only known the man since… well, I still don’t really _know_ him, but that’ll change soon.”

“Opportunities, Raeth. It’s good to _know_ people up there, but I don’t have to tell you that.”

“Sir, if I may ask, what about Bynali Four? We defeated the Nether forces here, but the analysis performed by my science team suggest we might be dealing with a serious weak spot in the fabric of space.”

“Hmm, don’t you worry about that. The situation is under control. We’ve been working together with the Earth forces to saturate the area with graviton particles. It’s gonna take some time before we can think about colonizing Bynali, but at least we won’t be dealing with uninvited guests anymore. Not from _that_ realm.”

He snorted, then smiled.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Raeth paused before replying. It was apparent that the Nezvhan Rhaa wanted to thank him for his actions. He wasn’t quite sure yet, but the ship needed repairs and he had been informed that the breach in the hull near the mess hall had wreaked havoc on their supply of fresh food. He figured it wasn’t too much to ask to have the galley restocked.

“Done, but getting your ship serviced and resupplied is standard procedure. Let me put it this way. I’ll grant you a favor. Within reasonable parameters of course.”

It didn’t take him long to come up with an answer to that one.

“Well, there is one thing.”

***

With the ship docked in one of Solbrecht’s orbital ports the crew was free to spend two cycles in any way desired. The Imperial Guard had a small presence on Solbrecht. Nothing more than a few supply bases near the largest space ports. The more extensive repairs, such as the aft starboard engine nacelle, would have to wait until the engineers of the Sogowa Prime shipyards could have a look. The spare parts for this new ship type were not available at every outpost yet.

Raeth and Jirro had both been invited aboard the starship _Devonshire_. For receiving larger delegations during diplomatic missions, she was equipped with a large assembly hall. Captain Benjamin had taken the liberty to organize a reception, to discuss the events that had taken place over the past few cycles, to honor those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, and to extend the hand of friendship to other cultures.

The hall where the reception was being held was free of seats but there were tall tables around which people had gathered for conversation. The enormous viewport that took up one entire wall offered an amazing view of Solbrecht and hidden speakers filled the room with pleasant ambient music at a low volume. Together with Jirro, he moved to a table that was still empty, while most others were surrounded by small groups of talking aliens.

“Hodrians?” Jirro remarked, spotting a trio of the creatures between the guests present.

They squabbled noisily amongst themselves, the universal translator picking up something about being glad that nothing was lost in the attack. Raeth knew what it was about. Two of their ships had arrived late during the battle and their participation had been minor but they had offered their support, nonetheless. He grunted.

“Only because they have about a trillion memory spheres stored in the warehouses of Solbrecht.”

Raeth hadn’t expected to put on the Imperial Guard dress uniform so soon after taking command. The pants were the same except for the gold trim around the ankles. The long-sleeved collared T-shirt was replaced by what looked like a buttonless dress shirt in the same red color, made from a thicker fabric so it felt more like a jacket. The stiff black collar sported his rank insignias and was edged with subtle gold trim, just like the long sleeves. They wore a small metal pin in the shape of the Imperial Guard seal on the left side of their chest, and with no way to close the front it exposed a line of the wearer’s chest and belly. The bottom edge was draped over their thighs and because it was weighted, it kept both front parts from fluttering to the side during movement.

Their clothes were far less extravagant than those of most of the other delegates. They had already spotted As’bit and his executive officer and Raeth was quite sure he had also seen Ayko between the Solbrechtians, Vusstrans, Indarians, Rybets and many others.

“Glad you could come,” Captain Ben greeted them as he joined them at the table, glass in hand. He was accompanied by his female first officer. The dress uniform of the Earth Alliance was a crisp stand-collared white tunic with shoulder boards and matching pants. It was decorated with various pins and insignias and no different from the female version. “What did you think of our Avenger squadron?”

It did not take Raeth long to figure out what Ben was talking about. He had been meaning to ask about the ECA fighters that changed form in the middle of combat, altering their characteristics and delivering devastating blows despite being a squadron of six. Before he could express his opinion, Jirro opened his mouth.

“You’ve built fighters that can change to a form that resembles yourself.” Ben laughed, showing a lot of white in the process. His second in command suppressed a chuckle. “They were effective weapons though,” Jirro added, failing to understand the humor of the situation.

“Their design was inspired by stories from long ago,” Ben said. “And it took a lot of effort to make them effective. Humans have done many things in the past simply because we dared to dream. And we still do.” Right at that moment a junior officer, wearing more or less the same as his superiors walked by, holding out a tray of tall glasses filled with a sparkling pale yellow liquid. “Champagne?”

Raeth was familiar with this tradition and although Jirro was about to refuse, he nudged him to pick up one of the glasses. Being very careful not to squeeze too hard, he removed one from the tray. As the glass was a bit small for his large hand, he held on to the stem and base at the same time to make it look less awkward, not entirely sure if it was the right thing to do.

“To heroes,” Ben said, raising his glass in unison with Aleksandra. “No matter where they are.”

Raeth raised his glass with a slight nod. Jirro imitated him flawlessly. He wasn’t quite sure if he knew the ritual and if he knew what he was doing but it sure looked like it. The shape of the bowl was never designed to serve members of his kind and individuals with broader muzzles would have trouble drinking from it.

Careful to only dip the tip of his beak inside the tapered conical glass, he took a small sip. In his case, that meant about half the contents. Alcoholic beverages were also consumed by his own kind, but he wasn’t as familiar with them as opposed to individuals who drank on a more regular basis. The flavor was fruity, the sparkling bubbles an enjoyable experience on his tongue. Jirro was less lucky and less subtle. Tipping the glass too fast, some went into his mouth. The rest spilled all over his neck and chest. It made a big wet spot on his dress uniform and the liquid used the slight rounding of his belly to drip into his pants.

Letting out a loud grunt, he shook his head and put the glass down, a little shocked by what happened. One of the staff members present noticed this, speeding toward the large Mantrin with a towel. The woman was tiny in comparison, but to his surprise Jirro still behaved like a true gentleman. Lowering himself on his enormous legs, he allowed her to dab his chest and neck with the towel. His intimidating physique and glare provoked some hesitation on her part at first, but he expressed his appreciation nonetheless in the form of a throaty purr.

Ben and Aleksandra looked a little uncomfortable but withheld themselves from laughing. Fortunately, because Raeth feared that Jirro would clear out the entire room if they did. The one who could not withhold herself from making a snide remark was Ayko. She approached them together with her first officer, an amused look on her face.

“No matter how you dress, you’re still a big brute, aren’t you?” The human staff member flinched when he let out a growl, eyes flashing in the direction of the two Akrennians. “Touchy, aren’t we?”

“Jirro, knock it off. You know her by now.”

“Oh c’mon, I’m just messing with ya.”

Unfazed by an angry Jirro, who continued to bare his teeth at her as she approached them, she looked at Raeth. She then smiled in a whole different manner. Jirro stopped making the rumbling sound in his throat when she and her first officer saluted them the Akrennian way, a sign of respect. Raeth gave her a salute of his own, nudging Jirro to follow.

“You did good,” she said.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Kryfar and I offer you both our thanks. Solbrecht is big. Everyone in the known galaxy has some form of family down there. If you hadn’t gone ahead of us to warn them and mount a defense, only the Gods know what would’ve happened.”

Raeth couldn’t help but notice that the Akrennians didn’t smell as bad as before. The change in uniforms that didn’t look too different from the standard duty uniform couldn’t be the only cause. _Maybe they came to realize it would be inappropriate if everyone in the room could smell they were present._

“We need to go,” Ayko said. “We’ve got other duties to attend to. Pirates have been raiding the shipping lanes again.” She smirked. “Interesting things are happening on the black market, but regular business has to go on too. Maybe I can make a double profit.”

Leaving them pondering about wat she meant by that, she turned around to leave, emptying her glass and leaving it on the nearest table.

“Ayko,” Raeth called after her. She flicked and ear and turned around to face him once more, a look of mischief on her face. “We never finished our fight.”

It didn’t take her long to figure out what he meant by that. Revealing her sharp teeth in a grin, she let out a laugh.

“We noticed your shields were down, but we had taken a hit to the primary plasma manifold. If you’d hit us again in the same place you could’ve blown us apart. Tough little ship you got there. She’s a beauty. Hold on to her.”

“I will. Don’t you worry.”

Watching her and Kryfar leave they left a strange feeling of satisfaction in their wake. Raeth had the feeling he made a friend out of her. No true words of friendship were exchanged, but reading between the lines, knowing the kind of woman she was, it was close enough. If they met again, it would be without exchanging shots first.

“Raeth!”

It was As’bit, the _Ginjha_ of the other _Myr’loa_ class starship. The crossbreed Mantrin was quite a bit smaller than he was and accompanied by a larger Goureg female, wearing the same dress uniform.

“I wish we had time to exchange a few more words, but we’ve been assigned elsewhere. It was good to fight alongside you. Does she have a name yet?”

That reminded him. With everything that happened on their first assignment, he hadn’t had the time to give it the attention it deserved. It was a decision that required careful consideration. A ship kept the name it was given until its inevitable dismantling or its destruction. A name always had a meaning, and it was good to think about what it would represent.

“Not yet. Too much going on.”

As’bit let out a laugh.

“I can imagine. First mission, battle. At least she passed the initiation stage without her limbs being torn off.”

Raeth smiled.

“We were cutting it close.”

“Hmm, see ya around, Raeth. It’s a big galaxy, but you’d surprised how often we run into each other. Mark my words.”

After exchanging a few more words with various people around different tables, Raeth considered it time to say goodbye. Space around Solbrecht was still filled with various ships. The Solbrechtians thought they could make a profit by salvaging some of the material left behind by the battle. There were still victims to take care of and repairs to be conducted. But with his crew in good health and a ship that had to be repaired back home, there was nothing more they could do around here.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Anytime,” Ben said. “And until we meet again.”

***

“Jetreycka, ship-wide, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was about a cycle later that Raeth stood behind his seat on the bridge, leaning on the backrest on his forearms. He had exchanged his formal outfit for the standard duty uniform and called the crew back to the ship. While some of them had decided to stay onboard during his and Jirro’s absence, the others had gone out into the station to which they were docked. For food, drinks, entertainment and communicating with family and loved ones on Solbrecht.

He could’ve done the latter himself, but his situation was more complex than those of his crew, or so he figured. It would have to wait. He had made a vow that the next time he visited his parents and sister it would be face-to-face. No long-distance communiques. It would only make things more difficult.

The current bridge occupation was different from before. Freya paired with Houn, and Nami had taken over from Trezka, leaving Jetreycka the only one who hadn’t switched places. They had already undocked and with the ship floating in space, the planet Solbrecht behind them, they were ready to depart.

“All hands, this is your _Ginjha_ speaking.”

All eyes present on the bridge were locked on him. His crew stood next to their stations. His first officer stood in front of his own seat, turned toward him, finally with a visible expression of acceptance on his face.

“First, I would like to say that I am proud of how you stood against the odds during the last couple of cycles. Your actions saved millions of lives. Your performances were admirable, worthy of recommendation. I will see to it personally.”

He paused, his eyes resting on the Imperial Guard seal in front of his seat. What they had been through was exactly what it stood for. To serve, to fight and to protect. Some might call it a job description. To him and many others, it was a calling.

“There is one more thing for us to do before we go back. We cannot return home without a name for our ship. They won’t let us. Does anyone have any suggestions?”

As he expected, his question was followed by silence. It appeared simple, but it wasn’t. He had come up with a few ideas, but this was a decision they had to make as a group. It was not his ship. It was their ship. _Our ship. Our home in space._ It was not that he didn’t trust his _Kaedar_ , but the last member of the crew he expected to hear first was Jirro. He was even more surprised to hear that what he had in mind was inspired by the same words.

“Sir, can’t we just call her the _Myr’shala?_ ”

Raeth smiled.

 _“As’bit_ , _”_ he thought. “ _Passed the initiation stage.”_

It was indeed fitting. Especially for such a challenging start. There was a sparkle of naughtiness in Jirro’s eyes, something he hadn’t seen before. When he smiled, reserved but genuine, they both knew he was right.

“I like it,” Freya said, her tail moving with short flicks.

“It’s a good name,” Nami agreed.

“The _Myr’shala_ it is,” it sounded over the comm, followed by a cacophony of cheers.

“I’ve looked it up!” Raeth said, loud enough to be heard above the sounds of enthusiasm. “It’s not taken yet. The _Myr’shala_ will be our home between the stars.”

He waited for the commotion to die down.

“There is one final thing I’d like to say. There is something I wanna change. I am your _Ginjha_ , but that is just a rank. My name is Raeth. That’s the name that was given to me when I was born. I want you to call me Raeth. Whether things get personal or when or when we’re on duty.”

“Sure, Raeth,” Nami said with a nod.

Jirro’s response was a grunt at first, but he seemed to like the idea.

“Call me, Jirro.”

The idea was warmly received. More than ever did he have the feeling that they were a family. A group of people with the same purpose that took care of each other. It was a beautiful beginning.

“Out there, there will always be someone in need of help. And we have been put together to provide that help. First, we go home, and after that, we will seek them out.”

***

**Epilogue**

“ _Nyehari saa_.”

After opening the front door of his house, savoring the familiar scent of home, Raeth was a little surprised that he did not receive an answer right away. He had tried to send a message ahead of his coming on the short trip home to put the minds of his mate and children at ease, but he wasn’t sure if they had received it.

The civilian part of the vast network for interstellar communication was overloaded due to the battle around Solbrecht, with millions of people trying to contact their loved ones to ensure they were okay. He could’ve used military channels which was against protocol. He could’ve asked Khyrzan to relay the message for him. But because their ship was among the fastest in the fleet, he decided to let fate decide.

It was an early evening, and the sun turned the sky into a mixture of orange and pink. The warm weather ensured a comfortable temperature until late at night. _Maybe they’re outside_. No matter what day it was, Ashia wouldn’t be working late because of her sore back and Fran and Trynn wouldn’t be at the learning center.

After closing the front door, he crossed the hallway into the living room, only to find it empty. There were a few toys scattered around the table and three floor pillows didn’t lie in their correct positions. His ear flattened, but he wasn’t alarmed right away. In fact, as he stopped moving, resting the end of his tail on the stone floor, he heard the sound of laughter coming from the backyard.

One window and the patio doors, of which only one was open, offered a view to the backyard but he couldn’t see the members of his family from where he was standing. He smiled. Not that he worried for even a tick. They were home and it filled his insides with feelings of warmth and happiness.

As he crossed the distance to the open door, he looked to the side through the grid window. Despite Ashia’s frequent back pains, she played a game of hover ball with Fran and Trynn. The floating ball defied gravity so it moved slower and could be configured to stay within a confined area, marked by a set of pylons. Although various games could be played with this setup, it looked like they weren’t playing any particular kind of game, hitting it with their hands, legs, tail and other body parts as it bounced between the invisible walls.

It didn’t matter. It provoked a lot of laughter from all of them. They seemed so caught up in it they only noticed he stood in the door opening, one leg still inside the house, when he laughed himself.

“Kharii!”

Fran was the first to notice him. The boy laid on his back in the grass, his arms wrapped around the ball he held clamped against his belly. Trynn’s ears perked up as she looked over her shoulder, her mouth widening into a smile. Ashia turned around. Judging by the amount of a relief on her sweet face and her sudden gasp for breath, it was clear she hadn’t received his message.

“Raeth!”

Walking a few steps toward them, he halted right before she threw herself into his open arms, flinging her own arms around his neck. To be able to do this, she left her feet behind a little, stretching her legs to make herself taller.

“I’m here,” he said as he felt her relax in his soft grip, rubbing her back in such a way that it would not aggravate her condition.

“I’m so happy you’re back kharii. And so soon!” Trynn said, as she hung over his thigh.

He felt her additional weight press his foot deeper into the soft grass-covered soil beneath it. Fran hugged his other leg.

“I’m happy you’re back too, kharii.”

The boy purred as Raeth rubbed his head between his ears. Ashia unwrapped her arms, letting herself slide down, leaving only her hands resting flat on his chest. Only then did she notice he was still in uniform.

“When I heard what happened. You. Solbrecht. Your parents and sister…”

As he put his large hands on her firm shoulders, he felt how it made the shivers stop. Biting her lip, she let her breathing calm down to a steady level.

“You have to go back, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Yes, but the Nezvhan Rhaa granted me one favor.”

She flattened an ear.

“What did you ask for?”

“To spend two days at home, with all of you.”

***

_Raeth and the crew of the Myr’shala will return in episode 2 “Inner Demons”_


End file.
